Michael Stanley

Born in Cleveland, Michael Stanley, whose birth name was Michael Stanley Gee, rose to local prominence as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, yet the Michael Stanley Band never attained the wider national recognition their output warranted. During the late 1960s he played bass in the folk-rock ensemble Silk, after which he launched a solo career with two early-1970s albums that suited the prevailing singer/songwriter climate. His songwriting drew the attention of producer Bill Szymczyk and session contributors including Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren, and David Sanborn almost immediately.

Forming the Michael Stanley Band, abbreviated as MSB, in 1975 shifted the music toward a direct rock style. The group issued a succession of albums spanning the late 1970s and early 1980s that registered only modest national sales while becoming major regional successes in Ohio. Their local popularity proved so strong that the band held attendance records at major Cleveland venues for years. Heartland, released in 1980, contained the hit single “He Can’t Love You,” sung by vocalist and keyboardist Kevin Raleigh, plus the minor hit “Lover,” performed by Stanley and featuring Clarence Clemons on saxophone. The band’s second and final Top 40 entry arrived in 1983 with Stanley’s anthem “My Town.”

After recording for Epic, Arista, and EMI, MSB issued two independent albums before disbanding in 1987. The ensemble operated as a consistent, straightforward outfit known for strong Midwestern rock and roll. Stanley later established himself as a familiar television and radio personality in Cleveland, continuing to release solo albums and occasional recordings with the one-time project the Ghost Poets while maintaining annual summer and New Year’s Eve concerts as well as occasional acoustic appearances with former bandmates and other local musicians. Razor & Tie later reissued most of the catalog plus two strong best-of collections on compact disc. Michael Stanley died on March 5, 2021, at age 72 while receiving treatment for lung cancer.