Ronnie Lee Cunningham (August 15, 1952 – 4 May 2020) was an American musician, best known as a member of the 1970s rock band

LAW Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

. Cunningham's first notable engagement was as the band leader of his own group called The Ronnie Lee Thing, although before that he had already recorded his first single at the age of 14. In 1969 he co-founded Brainchild, where he played until the group disbanded 1972. Cunningham was friends with a founding member of LAW, Steve Acker, and through this connection joined LAW in 1973. He replaced Mickey Williamson at the keyboards, and also sang lead on many of their recordings. In addition, Cunningham played either bass guitar or keyboards with

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

Earth Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling b ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and ...

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is a retired American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded with the groups Bob Seger and the Last Heard and the Bob Seger System throu ...

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and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

. He has also worked with

Michael Winslow Michael Leslie Winslow (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and beatboxer billed as The Man of 10,000 Sound Effects for his ability to make realistic sounds using only his voice. He is best known for his roles in all seven ' ...

of ''

Police Academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or to o ...

'' fame. In 2002 Cunningham and members of Brainchild got together to play at a concert at the Yankee Lake Ballroom in Brookfield to raise money for an autism center. Married Barbara Patti Bostwick on May 11, 1984 - October 23, 1999. Ronnie Lee Cunningham died in May 2020, in Las Vegas.

Also appears on

* Phoenix – ''Power'' – Charisma – CA-1-2208 – 1979 (Keyboards & backing vocals)Discog
Phoenix (25) – In Full View
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Ronnie Lee African-American rock singers American male singer-songwriters American soul keyboardists American funk keyboardists American rock keyboardists American rock songwriters Place of birth missing African-American songwriters 2020 deaths People from Youngstown, Ohio 21st-century African-American musicians 1952 births