Gamma was formed in San Francisco, California, in 1979 by guitarist Ronnie Montrose and vocalist Davey Pattison, emerging from Montrose's earlier hard-rock band, which had disbanded in 1977. After releasing Gamma 1 in 1979, the band achieved its first chart success with the single "I'm Alive", which peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received substantial airplay on KSHE in St. Louis; the album itself reached number 131 on the Billboard 200. In 1980 the group issued Gamma 2, a heavier effort that climbed to number 65 on the Billboard chart and produced tracks such as "Mean Streak" and "Cat on a Leash"; "Right the First Time" from the 1982 release of Gamma 3 entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 77 and hit number 10 on the Album Rock Tracks chart, while reaching number 27 on the Canadian pop chart. After limited promotion from Elektra Records, Gamma disbanded in 1983, though Ronnie Montrose later reformed his band Montrose in 1987 and released solo work until his death by suicide on March 3, 2012. Pattison continued to perform, notably with Robin Trower, while former drummer Denny Carmassi joined Heart, Whitesnake, and Foreigner. In 2000 the band reunited to record Gamma 4, but dissolved again shortly thereafter. Rock Candy Records remastered the catalog between 2011 and 2013, reissuing Gamma 1, Gamma 2, and Gamma 3 with added liner notes and bonus tracks.
