,
Dan Hartman,
Edgar Winter. Ruff was born in
Reno, Nevada, on May 25, 1951, to Charles W. "Bill" Ruff II and Georgie Ruff. He played in the rock group Sawbuck with
Ronnie Montrose and Bill Church from 1968 to 1970. Ruff and Montrose later joined Edgar Winter with
Dan Hartman to form The Edgar Winter Group in 1972. It was with this band that he had his biggest successes. The album
They Only Come Out at Night (1973) featured "
Frankenstein," which reached No. 1 in the U.S. in May 1973, and the top 15 single "
Free Ride", which reached No. 14 that same year. The album
Shock Treatment featured the top 40 hit "River's Risin'" and "Easy Street", which also charted. In 1977, Ruff joined
Sammy Hagar and performed on the albums
Street Machine (1979) and
Danger Zone (1979), including the song "Bad Reputation", which is in the film
Up the Academy. In his later years, Ruff continued performing music in Reno, Nevada, with the Chuck Ruff Group, The
Max Volume Band (played drums on the 2007 album
Illuminaughty) and his last project, Geezersläw. Ruff played
Gretsch Drums throughout his career. == Personal Life & Death ==