Michael Stanley, Cleveland rock legend and well-known local radio and TV personality, dies at 72

Cleveland, Ohio – About 50 years ago, on his self-titled debut solo album, Michael Stanley made a clear statement about mortality:

Here’s a song for a friend soon

A friend whose life and mine fell in love

Quit early for life / leave your part behind

Stanley, who died of lung cancer on Friday at the age of 9, leaves more than a small portion of his hometown in Cleveland – and in a city where he was the rock ‘n’ roll king and a place favorite, award-winning radio and television personality.

To say that Stanley was a part of Cleveland’s fabric, but that it is nothing but a clich; It was a home he had never left, and a place called “Kuahhoga Messiah” by Last Call Cleveland, which he would take with him whenever he came to play heartland rock in the country, as if he could love you. No, “. “Lover,” “Falling in Love Again” and “My Town.” “

“I had three very good, different careers with music, television, radio,” Stanley told The Plane Dealer in 2019, before receiving the Cleveland Arts Prize Lifetime Achievement Award. “Did we get everything we wanted?” No. But we accomplished things we never thought I would make my favorite thing. I dreamed of this as a teenager, and I just finished doing it. “

Stanley’s family released a statement on its social media pages on Saturday. “Michael fought lung cancer for seven months with the same strength and pride that he did for the rest of his life. He will always be remembered as a loving father, brother, husband, a loyal friend and the leader of one of Cleveland’s most successful rock bands. ”

Fellow Ohio rocker and longtime friend Wal Wal Lush, who played on Stanley’s second solo album and covered his song “Rosewood Beaters,” said: “Michael was King of Cleveland, and of course, the Michael Stanley Band became a Midwest powerhouse. Michael has always been a master at the art of songwriting. His songs have a way of coming to your head and since then you have become yourself singing songs … his music will always be a part of me. “

Holly Gleason, a well-known music critic and author, grew up in Cleveland and later became friends with Stanley. “If you were a kid in the 70s or 80s in Cleveland, that was our hand on the brass ring,” he said. “It was a promise to deliver a rock‘ n ’roll. He believed in the rock ‘n’ roll. He believed in sports. He believed in Cleveland.

“He was so symbolic of that ragging heart that he doesn’t care about losing it – he’ll still leave everything on the field. And when he wrote those songs, the kids in that city where the river caught fire and the lake died, they felt That his life is important. “

Michael Belkin of Live Nation, whose father has run Stanley for more than 40 years, recalled that affection is part of a unique two-way relationship between the artist and his fans.

“Throughout my career I’ve never seen another artist as patient and polite, as Michael was with the fans,” Belkin said. “Backstage, pre-show-meet and greetings, dinner and benefits, I saw him interacting with thousands of supporters over the years, and he was consistently pleasant and kind. Always. Every time. “

Born Michael Stanley G. (his father, Francis Stanley G., was a local radio personality), Stanley began playing in bands at Rocky River High School – where he also played baseball and basketball. The receptionists paved the way for the Establishments and Tree Stumps at Hiram College, which Stanley participated on the Besb .l Scholarship. He has degrees in sociology and comparative religion, but music was where his heart was. Producer-engineer Bill Sizzamzik ​​signed Tree Stumps to ABC Records, though suggested a name change that became silk for the 1969 publication “Easy as Raw Silk.”

“Originally I signed the band because of him,” said Sezmizik, who continued the relationship with Stanley, including his final album “Tough Room,” which he brought to Cleveland to play for Stanley in late February. “I liked his songs and I liked the quality of his voice. To me he’s always been a really, really good writer, and he’s moved on better over the years. “

After Silk’s death, Sizmakzik brought Stanley to the Colombo-based Tumbleweed Records label, creating his self-titled solo album and “Friends and Legends” in 1973, and later featuring a corps of Wal Lush and “Colorado All-Stars” and a corps. . A year later, Stanley formed the Michael Stanley Band, a muscular, blue-collar outfit whose dynamic performances were mentioned in the same breath as populist rock comrades such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger and John Melanick.

“For people in our area, music meant a lot – it’s part of the Midwest,” said Tommy Dobeck, a native drummer who married Stanley as the best man and made him the godfather of a son. “It was always more like glitter than baseball caps and tennis shoes. I came from another band (circus) that was bigger in Santin; I said to Michael, ‘Do I have to wear anything?’ He said, ‘I don’t give what you wear as ***. Just play! ”

David Spiro, who was introduced to Stanley by Wal Walsh, managed Stanley in the 70s, including major label deals with Epic Records. “I think he’s one of the most underdeveloped writers in our country at this kind of story-telling Bruce Springsteen school,” said Sparrow, who had lunch with Stanley almost every other Friday.

Stanley, of course, never broke for the same success of multi-platinum as he did for artists; Her top charting album, 1983’s “You Time Fashion,” reached number 64 on the Billboard 200 – although Dick Cavet, along with Merv Griffin, and some TV appearances at the “Don Kirschner Rock Concert” made her a national hit. ”

“Throughout my career, I’ve never been able to get him a monster hit record – which always pissed me off,” said Sismzik, noting other notable producers – including Mutt Lange, Don Gehmann and Eddie Kramer. T get Stanley on either lump. “I was like, ‘Damon, Bob (Seger) reassured. How come we don’t even meet Michael. ‘It was huge in the Midwest – Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh. We couldn’t get him out of there. ”

In Cleveland it was a different story. He played multiple-night stands at the Richfield Coliseum and Blossom Music Center. Melanick amp, Billy Joel, Foreigner and others opened up to him early in his career. The band played in the World Series Rock for Rock at the Municipal Stadium. “They sold more Ohio shows than anyone else,” he noted.

Stanley and company rarely let anything get in the direction of a good show. Drummer Dobek remembered a wrench that was inadvertently dropped by a crew member coming down from a lighting truss during a Richfield Coliseum show and hit Stanley in the head. “Michael felt like someone had thrown something at him and it was like, ‘Who did that ?!’ – which was the opposite of Michael.But, it only lasted 10 seconds and we went back to the song.

When the upper stage light exploded outside Detroit and Shard cut Stanley’s face, Dobek recalls, “He just kept playing, blood running down his cheeks. I was right, ‘Wow, show showman.’

The Michael Stanley band ended in 1986, but Stanley continued to play record and live with his bands Resonators and Midlife Chrysler. His musical reach expanded, and his songs became richer, more experienced, and more cinematic, influencing his songs with experience and perspective over the years. And he never strayed from an intelligent sentence or a large class word; Seismic laughed when Stanley’s songs told him to pull out the dictionary on more than one occasion.

“Stanley -” who suffered a heart attack in 1991 and was subsequently battling prostate cancer and quadruple bypass. If you look at the work of any author’s work, you usually find a common theme or two that they try to honor. – Said the plain seller in 2012.

“I realized mine: you never know. The whole idea of ​​not knowing what tomorrow will bring and open for it. I always thought about it in a very positive way: ‘Hey! Tomorrow! Something good happens tomorrow! ”

Stanley, as it turns out, is likely to have started a bonus career with a few people – despite his father’s legacy. He won 11 local Emmy Awards as a co-host of WJW Channel 8’s “PM Magazine” between 1987 and 1990, and then spent another year on the station’s “Cleveland Tonight”. He played himself on the episode “The Drew Carry Show”.

On the radio, Stanley spent more than 30 years at the WNCX, weekends and Saturday mornings, ending just last month. He once said, “I’ve already told each story 107 times,” but being a part of the city’s daily life, it was more tightly woven into his clothes.

“There’s no one to replace him,” said Bill Lewis of WNCX, who has worked with Stanley since 1995. Hundreds of thousands of Clevelanders fell in love with him at the concert stage, then at PM Magazine and for the last 30 years they went home with him. In his car every week at WNCX. That body of work will prove to be unequal.

“Michael was the brightest light we could call ours locally.”

“(Stanley) was so accessible,” added former manager Spiro. He was involved with one or the other (sports) team at one time or another. He was a man who, if there was a fundraiser, I knew I could always call him, ‘Can you come right now’ and he would never give up. ‘When you sell blossom (four) nights in a row, you don’t have to make it accessible, but it was.

“It simply came to our notice then. Life without Michael doesn’t really make sense. ”

There will be reminders, of course – by the section of Huron Avenue, renamed Michael Stanley Way 2019, for one. And there’s the next “tough room,” which Szimzik said will definitely be stimulated despite Stanley’s deteriorating health. “She is OK. He always has … screaming and crying. I’ve always been fascinated by routers … and there are more roars than cries. “

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released a statement on Saturday recalling Staley, “Our city’s most beloved musician, songwriter and rocker.

“His heartland music resonated with the legion of listeners, and he set attendance records at his concerts and advanced the mythical proportions. More importantly, Michael’s songs speak to our hearts. As fans we loved and respected him very much, and in return he loved us exactly. His musical ability and ability to bring people together helped Cleveland become the rock and roll capital of the world, and galvanized the community together to rally and make our city home to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame fame. We will miss Michael very much. ”

Stanley is survived by his daughters Anna Sari (Christian) and Sarah Sharp (Aaron); His sister, Nancy os Sterhaudt and niece Claire Klose; His wife, Ilsa Glenzburg and Stepson Cole Sweeney; And his five grandchildren – Mary Larry Sidotti (Mike), An Dunn Cruces, Brody De Cruces, Warren Seri and Phoebe Seri. She is preceded by her mother, Martha Fitzpatrick; His father Stanley G; And his last wife, Dennis Skinner.

Stanley will be buried in a private ceremony at Lake Vy Cemetery. The family requests the Cleveland Food Bank (www.greaterclevelandfoodbank.org) and / or the Cleveland Animal Protective League (www.clevelandapl.org) to contribute in their memory.