Michael Stanley

Michael Stanley
Background information
Birth name	Michael Stanley Gee
Born	(1948-03-25) March 25, 1948
Origin	Cleveland, Ohio
Genres	Rock, folk rock, heartland rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, disc jockey
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Associated acts	Silk Michael Stanley Band The Ghost Poets Michael Stanley & The Resonators

Michael Stanley (born March 25, 1948 as Michael Stanley Gee in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and radio personality. Both as a solo artist and with the Michael Stanley Band, his brand of heartland rock was popular in Cleveland and around the American Midwest in the 1970s and 1980s.

Biography

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. During this time he was in the band Silk which released one album, Smooth As Raw Silk, on ABC Records in 1969.^[2]

While working as a regional manager for a record store chain, Stanley released his first solo album, Michael Stanley, in 1973. The album and its follow-up Friends & Legends were produced by Bill Szymczyk and featured contributions from Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren and David Sanborn.

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.^[3]

Michael Stanley Band

The Michael Stanley Band was formed by Stanley in 1974 with singer-songwriter–lead guitarist Jonah Koslen, former Glass Harp bassist Daniel Pecchio and drummer Tommy Dobeck from the band Circus. There were 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^[4] 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.^[5]

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.^[6] The band's last Top 40 hit was "My Town" in 1983.

The band called it quits in 1986 with a series of twelve farewell shows at the Front Row Theatre during the 1986–87 holiday season. Since then, Stanley has performed regularly throughout Northeast Ohio with former members of MSB and with the Resonators and as Michael Stanley and Friends.^[7]

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 career

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. Since 1990, Stanley has been the afternoon drive disc jockey for classic rock radio station WNCX in Cleveland. In 2012, Stanley received the "Excellence in Radio" award from the Cleveland Association of Broadcasters.^[8]

Discography

Albums

Silk

Solo

Michael Stanley Band

The Ghost Poets

Post-MSB solo

Singles

References

Further reading

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

External links

• Official Michael Stanley Website
• Michael Stanley Biography
• Greatest Hints: How Michael Stanley Almost Made Cleveland Famous (2007 Pop Conference)
• Official Michael Stanley and the Resonators Website
• Michael Stanley Music