Ronnie Laws

About Ronnie Laws

Ronnie Laws was born in Houston, Texas in 1950, where he taught himself to play alto saxophone when he was 11. He comes from a musical family.His older brother is noted Jazz Flautist Hubert Laws, and he occasionally tours with his sister Debra Laws, a vocalist. Ronnie Laws left college early and moved to Los Angeles to make it as a musician in 1970 and worked with the Jazz Crusaders and Hugh Masakela, among others. He played saxophone and flute with Earth, Wind & Fire for two years, appearing on their 1972 album Last Days and Time.

His first solo record was Pressure Sensitive on Blue Note Records in 1975 and it yielded his biggest hit Always There. Over the years Ronnie Laws has performed and recorded with an A list of musicians including Howard Hewitt, Brian Culbertson, Ramsey Lewis, Jeff Lorber, Alphonse Mouzon, Sister Sledge and many others. Atlanta's Jazz Station 91.9 WCLK played Always There in 1975 and we've played his music ever since. He joined us in the WCLK studio last month when he was in town with Debra to play live at Suite Food Lounge.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas Laws is the fifth of eight children. He started playing the saxophone at the age of 11.
• He attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, for two years.
• During 1971 Laws journeyed to Los Angeles, California to embark upon a musical career. He started off by performing with trumpeter Hugh Masekela. Within 1972, Laws joined the band Earth, Wind & Fire where he played saxophone and flute on their album Last Days and Time. After 18 months with EWF he went on to become a solo artist.
• During 1975 Laws issued his debut album entitled Pressure Sensitive on Blue Note Records. The album reached No. 25 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. In 1976, Laws went on to release his second LP Fever. The album reached No. 13 on the Billboard Top Soul LPs chart.
• Laws' fourth studio LP, entitled Flame was released in September 1978 on United Artists Records. The LP reached No. 16 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums

Fun Facts

• Name: Ronnie Laws
• Born and Raised: Houston, Texas
• Instrument(s): Alto saxophone
• Debut Album: 1975
• Favorite Song: Always There