Ronnie Laws
Ronald Wayne Laws (born October 3, 1950) is an American jazz and smooth jazz saxophonist, and singer. He is the younger brother of jazz flutist Hubert Laws, jazz vocalist Eloise Laws and the older brother of Debra Laws.
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, United States, 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.
In 1971, Laws journeyed to Los Angeles, California to embark upon a musical career. He started off by performing with trumpeter Hugh Masekela. In 1972, Laws joined the band Earth, Wind & Fire, where he played saxophone and flute on their album Last Days and Time. After 18 months working with Earth, Wind and Fire, he decided to become a solo artist. In 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.