Between 1969 and 1970 David Bowie and his producer Tony Visconti began searching for a distictive guitar player who could match their creativity in the studio as well as play a magnetic foil to Bowie live on stage. The new documentary Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story takes viewers back to the Swinging London of the 1960′s to tell the origin story of the titular guitar player who played the Keith to Bowie’s Mick during David Jones’ first great era as rock ‘n’ roll’s slipperiest chameleon.

This tale is told through interviews with eye witnesses like Bowie’s ex-wife Angie and British music luminaries like John Peel, Rick Wakeman and Ian Hunter. Bowie himself makes an appearance of a kind in the form of a disembodied interview recorded before his death last year. The voiceover narration sounds a bit slow and sleepy and viewers are aware that they are listening to Bowie near the end of his days, but Bowie’s commentary is invaluable here and his praise for his guitarist, co-producer and arranger is unreservedly enthusiastic.

Ronson played with bands like The Rats and Julia’s Eyes before hooking up with Bowie and Visconti to play a set on John Peel’s radio show the very afternoon when they’d all first met. Of course, that’s how it works with rock ‘n’ roll — that’s how it works or it doesn’t. Ronson only played on one track of Bowie’s Space Oddity LP, but he joined in the final mixing and mastering process and became a key figure behind the board as well as on the stage and in the studio. Next came The Man Who Sold the World (1970), Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), and Aladdin Sane (1973).

Beside Bowie revisits Ronson’s one-of-a-kind guitar tone and style, his contributions to Lou Reed’s classic Transformer album, his own solo career, his stand with Mott the Hoople, his work with Bob Dylan, his production of John Cougar’s chart-topping hit “Jack and Diane,” and his production of Morrissey’s Your Arsenal. But, most importantly, Beside Bowie makes a convincing case that Ronson played a direct and indispensable role in making David Bowie into a star, and that he was never duly credited or financially reimbursed for his crucial contributions. At least this film can serve as a kind of witness to Ronson’s genius.

Here are Ronson and Bowie reunited in 1993 during the sessions for Bowie’s Black Tie White Noise LP…

Yesterday the folks over at Dangerous Minds posted about an upcoming Mick Ronson documentary which had mysteriously appeared on Vimeo ahead of its release which is being hinted at for later this year. Beside Bowie: The Story of Mick Ronson spotlights the man who played Keith to Bowie’s Mick, and whose guitar playing, onstage persona, and behind the boards chops helped to define the glam rock era and beyond…

Mick Ronson might be considered the #1 Spider from Mars. He certainly will go down in history as one of David Bowie’s chief collaborators and one of the people most responsible for the glam sound.

Ronson worked on several of the core albums of Bowie’s early period, including most obviously The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars as well as The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory, and Aladdin Sane. He played on All the Young Dudes by Mott the Hoople and Transformer by Lou Reed, on which he was also a producer. In 1974 Ronson released his first solo album, Slaughter on 10th Avenue on which appeared the Elvis cover “Love Me Tender” and “Growing Up and I’m Fine,” co-written by Bowie.

“All the Young Dudes,” “Perfect Day,” and “Walk on the Wild Side” are just a few of the legendary songs Ronson was significantly involved with. He also worked with Bob Dylan and Morrissey. Sadly, Ronson passed away of liver cancer on April 29, 1993, at the age of 46.

Of course, by the time I saw the post the video had already been yanked, but it’s the kind of thing I’d probably rather see in a big theater with a loud sound system anyway. In the meantime here’s a long interview with Ronson from 1992 to whet your appetite for the new film…

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