Ron Urban was a one-man band, literally, but he could make it seem as if the stage were full.
Urban, who died Sept. 17 at age 60, was a well-known singer/songwriter in Durango, a favorite at ski slopes, nightclubs and community events where he played.
“He could get a crowd going like no one I’ve ever seen,” said longtime friend Rick Armstrong of Kirksville, Mo. “He had a knack for getting people up on their feet. He was full of life and enjoyed his profession.”
A self-taught musician, Urban began playing the accordion when he was in the first grade. He later learned to play the guitar, piano, synthesizer, harmonica and Appalachian dulcimer.
He recorded and mixed his own music as backup for his concerts, which included classic rock, oldies, country, blues and big band. He was both singer and instrumentalist.
He composed hundreds of songs and, at the time of his death, was working on a CD of his latest songs.
For years, he was a regular at a New Year’s Eve party in Aspen, said Armstrong, played at the Pelican’s Nest for six years and for the Durango Mountain Caballeros for 10 years. He was often the featured performer for the annual meeting of the Cowboy Artists of America.
Ron and Susan Urban helped found the Spirit of the Earth Concert, which for more than 10 years benefited the La Plata Open Space Conservancy, and the SnowDown Snowball, which raised money for the Manna Soup Kitchen in Durango.
In the 1960s, Urban toured the country with the Ford Motor Co.’s official band, “The Going Thing.” Later, he lived in Hollywood, where he played at various venues, and recorded an album, “Urban Country,” in Nashville in the 1980s. A song on the album, “Sweet Nothin’s,” made the Top 100 on national country music charts.
Over the years, Urban was often the warm-up act for such well-known musicians as Arlo Guthrie and Dan Fogelberg.
Ronald James Urban was born in Bell Gardens, Calif., on April 10, 1948, and graduated from Lowell High School in Whittier, Calif. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English and literature from California State University in Fullerton.
He married Susan Schneider on March 22, 1973, and adopted her 5-year-old daughter, Shauna. The family moved to Durango in 1978.
In addition to them, he is survived by a grandson.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
