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 in 1966. He attended Hiram College on a baseball scholarship and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1970.
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.
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. 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.
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, 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.
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. 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.
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.
Michael Stanley – guitar, vocals
Jonah Koslen – lead guitar, vocals (1974–77)
Daniel Pecchio – bass, vocals (1974–79)
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)