Michael Stanley

Michael Stanley (born Michael Stanley Gee; March 25, 1948 – March 5, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and radio and television personality. As a solo artist and with the Michael Stanley Band (MSB), and Michael Stanley and the Resonators (MS&R), his brand of heartland rock was popular in Cleveland, Ohio, and around the American Midwest in the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life, family, and education

Michael Stanley Gee graduated from Rocky River High School^[1] in 1966. He attended Hiram College^[1] on a baseball scholarship and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1970.

Career

Early career

While in college, Michael Stanley was in the band Silk (called initially the Tree Stumps), which released an album, Smooth As Raw Silk, on ABC Records in 1969.^[2]

A few years after his graduation, while working as a regional manager for a record store chain, Stanley released his first solo album, Michael Stanley, on Tumbleweed Records in 1973. The album was produced by Bill Szymczyk and featured contributions from Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren, Rick Derringer, and Joe Vitale.^[3] Its first song, "Rosewood Bitters," would become a lifetime fixture in Stanley's shows and was later recorded by Walsh in 1985. Stanley's second solo album, Friends and Legends, released later in 1973 on MCA Records, was again produced by Szymczyk and included support from members of Barnstorm and Stephen Stills' Manassas, among others: Walsh, Vitale, Kenny Passarelli, Paul Harris, Joe Lala, Al Perkins, David Sanborn, Dan Fogelberg, and Richie Furay, with J. Geils contributing to the production.^[4]

Michael Stanley Band

The Michael Stanley Band was formed by Stanley in 1974 with singer-songwriter and lead guitarist Jonah Koslen, former Glass Harp bassist Daniel Pecchio and drummer Tommy Dobeck from the band Circus. Several personnel changes over the years, and by 1982, the group had evolved into a seven-piece band.

Nicknamed MSB by their fans, the band set several attendance records at Cleveland area venues, including a record 20,320 at the Richfield Coliseum on July 20, 1979,^[5] and a record 40,529 for two Coliseum concerts on December 31, 1981, and January 1, 1982. The band's greatest achievement was a total attendance of 74,404 during a four-night stand at Blossom Music Center on August 25, 26, 30 and 31, 1982.^[6]

The group reached the peak of their popularity nationally in 1981 when the single "He Can't Love You" from the album Heartland (written and sung by keyboardist Kevin Raleigh) made the Top 40 (#33 Billboard, #27 Cash Box) and "In the Heartland" from the album North Coast went to #6 on Billboard's Top Tracks chart. Their video for "He Can't Love You" was the 47th video ever played on MTV.^[7] The band's last Top 40 hit was "My Town" in 1983. "My Town" has been played by the Ohio State University Marching Band since 1986. The special all-brass and percussion arrangement is a favorite in Ohio Stadium.

The band dissolved in 1987 with 12 farewell shows at the Front Row Theater in Highland Heights, Ohio (suburban Cleveland) during the 1986–87 holiday season.^[8]

In 2004, the sketch comedy troupe Last Call Cleveland produced Michael Stanley Superstar: The Unauthorized Autobiography of the Cuyahoga Messiah, a play which parodied Stanley's status as a local celebrity.^[9]

Personnel

• Michael Stanley – guitar, vocals
• Jonah Koslen – lead guitar, vocals (1974–77)
• Daniel Pecchio – bass, vocals (1974–79)
• Tommy Dobeck – drums
• Bob Pelander – keyboards (1976–87)
• Gary Markasky – lead guitar (1978–83)
• Kevin Raleigh – keyboards, vocals (1978–87)
• Michael Gismondi – bass (1979–87)
• Rick Bell – saxophone (1982–84)
• Danny Powers – lead guitar (1983–87)

Television and radio

Stanley was the co-host of PM Magazine on WJW Channel 8 from 1987 to 1990 and its follow-up, Cleveland Tonight, until 1991. He also appeared on The Drew Carey Show, playing himself.

Following a short stint on Cleveland radio station WMMS, from 1990 until a few weeks before he died in 2021, Stanley was the afternoon drive disc jockey for classic rock radio station WNCX, in Cleveland.^[10]

In 1993, he appeared on the Howard Stern Radio Show during one of his Birthday Shows and played Rosewood Bitters with Joe Walsh live.

Later musical career

In addition to his broadcasting career, after the breakup of the Michael Stanley Band, Stanley continued to write songs, record, and perform with bands (often with some former members of MSB), including Michael Stanley and Friends, the Ghost Poets, the Resonators, and Midlife Chryslers. In 2019, he estimated that the Resonators played about 25 shows yearly, many in Northeast Ohio but also "from the East Coast to Atlanta to St. Louis." He released about sixteen more albums on Razor & Tie or his label, Line Level.^[10][11]

Personal life

Stanley was married four times: to Libby Hill Blake, a teacher, from 1970 to 1990, when they divorced; to Mary McCrone, a television producer, for eight years until they divorced in about 2000; to Denise Skinner, a former marketing staffer, from 2002 until her death of cancer in 2011;^{[note 1]} and to her best friend, Ilsa Glanzberg, an elementary school instructional aide, from 2017 until he died in 2021. He had twin daughters, Anna and Sarah, born in 1974, and five grandchildren.^[10][12]

Health and death

Stanley had a first heart attack in 1991, at age 43. In 2017, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Later that year, he suffered a second heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery.^[11]

Stanley died in his sleep on March 5, 2021, after suffering for seven months with lung cancer.^[13]

He is buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, OH.^[14]

Awards and honors

• 1987–1991 – either one, or "a couple," or eleven, local Emmy awards^[11][10][12]
• 2012 – Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Excellence in Radio Award^[15]
• 2019 – Cleveland Arts Prize’s Lifetime Achievement Award^[10]
• 2019 – The City of Cleveland renamed a section of Huron Avenue in downtown Cleveland as Michael Stanley Way.^[16]
• 2021 – March 25, which would have been his 73rd birthday, declared Michael Stanley Day by the Cleveland City Council^[17]

Discography

Albums

Silk

Solo

Michael Stanley Band

The Ghost Poets

Post-MSB solo

Singles

Notes

1. ^ A different date for Skinner's death, 2017, is listed in Stanley's Akron Beacon-Journal obituary (compare the 2019 Cleveland Magazine profile of Stanley saying 2011, both linked in the footnotes). The 2017 date appears wrong, based on an August 2012 source that discusses "Stanley’s wife, Denise Skinner, who died last September." https://www.mytownneo.com/article/20120805/ENTERTAINMENT/308059697

References

1. ^ Yarborough, Chuck (August 18, 2014). "Michael Stanley to be honored with tribute concert featuring fans and peers". The Plain Dealer. – via Cleveland.com.
2. ^ Dyer, Bob (September 30, 1979). "The Michael Stanley Band". The Plain Dealer Magazine. p. 24.
3. ^ Michael Stanley (Vinyl back cover notes). Tumbleweed Records. 1973. TWS106.
4. ^ 'Michael Stanley: Friends and Legends (Vinyl back cover notes). MCA Records. 1973. MCA-372.
5. ^ Holan, Mark (July 26 – August 1, 1979). "The Week That Rocked". Scene
6. ^ Faris, Mark (December 14, 1986). "Breaking up is hard to do". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
7. ^ Hoye, Jacob (2001). MTV Uncensored. p. 45.
8. ^ Adams, Deanna R. (2002). Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection. Kent State University Press. pp. 261–268. ISBN 0-87338-691-4.
9. ^ Heaton, Michael (December 10, 2004). "Michael Stanley parody does resonate a bit". The Plain Dealer. p. E1.
10. ^ Thompson, Lynne (29 April 2019). "From The Heartland: A Michael Stanley Retrospective". Cleveland Magazine. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
11. ^ Price, Mark J. (6 March 2021). "Cleveland rock star Michael Stanley dies at 72". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
12. ^ "Michael Gee Obituary (1948–2021) – Mayfield Heights, OH". The Plain Dealer. 6 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
13. ^ "Legendary Cleveland rocker and radio personality Michael Stanley dies at 72". Wkyc.com. March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
14. ^ "Lake View Cemetery Association Map - Remember My Journey". Remembermyjourney.com
15. ^ "Awards for Excellence". cabcleveland.com
16. ^ Buffington, Randy & Nyorkor, Sia (June 11, 2019). "Cleveland native and musician Michael Stanley to be honored with street in his name". Cleveland19.com. WOIO/WUAB. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
17. ^ "Cleveland City Council declares March 25 will be Michael Stanley Day". WKYC. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
18. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums - October 21, 1978"
19. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - February 28, 1981"

Further reading

• Adams, Deanna R. (2002). Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection. Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-691-4.
• Wolff, Carlo (2006). Cleveland Rock and Roll Memories. Cleveland: Gray & Company. ISBN 978-1-886228-99-3.

External links

• Official website
• as Michael Stanley Gee
• Michael Stanley at IMDb