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No "Half Efforts"...
Born on March 25, 1948, in Cleveland, Ohio, Michael Stanley Gee's early musical inclinations, as a Rocky River High School student, were typical of most teen boys in a 'garage band': "It was just something that was fun to do," Michael Stanley recalled, in a 1981 'TEEN Magazine interview, "It was a good way to pick up some quick money and meet some girls."
In 1965, the proverbial 'first' band was one called the 'Scepters'. Things became more serious, musically, when Michael joined the 'Tree Stumps', and a single was released, "Listen To Love". By 1969, Michael was a student at Hiram College, working on his Bachelor of Arts degree, and the Tree Stumps had become 'Silk', a locally-popular folk group that had advanced into the recording studio and produced an LP, "Smooth As Raw Silk"...
At a point when the band was on the verge of breaking up, they were asked to play a local Cleveland hotspotand they took the gig with the idea that they could, at the very least, 'go out on top'...
New York record producer, Bill Szymczyk, was in the audience that night, and was impressed; a record contract followed...
Michael had continued working his 'day job' at Disc Records, having by then become the Regional Manager, in charge of stores in 12 states, AND married--with two infant, twin daughters, Sarah and Anna. For two years, he juggled his time between the studio, work and family at a somewhat leisurely pace, judiciously using several weeks of vacation time a year to record both his debut, "Michael Stanley", and second LP, "Friends & Legends"...
Further supplementing his creative zen, he had also begun collaborating with two area musicians, Daniel Pecchio and Jonah Koslen, with the newly formed trio playing Stanley's solo songs as well as new material.
In 1973, Michael and his boss had a dispute that resulted in disaster: he was fired. With a new family, new car--and no job--Michael was momentarily 'stranded'. By now a close friend, Joe Walsh (another Cleveland area musician, who had joined Michael in the studio on both LP's) suggested Michael either 'give it (music) his all' or get out--no 'half-efforts' were going to suffice. It was a turning point for Michael, and one where he finally saw music as his lifeblood, deciding to consider it a full-time pursuit.
Michael's decision to 'hang tough' with the music, along with prodding from Pecchio and Koslen, became the catalyst that brought in drummer Tommy Dobeck, and the Michael Stanley Band came into being...
The Michael Stanley Band...
From the mid 70's to the mid 80's, the Michael Stanley Band enjoyed a strong and fiercely loyal following, touring with some of the superstar bands of that period (including Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles, Foreigner and The Doobie Brothers); there were several Top-20 and Top-30 hits, among them "He Can't Love You" in 1980 and "My Town" in 1983, but it seemed the 'one great hit' never came--the kind of chartbuster that saw acts like Bob Seger, Bryan Adams, John Cougar (now Mellencamp), make their names and hometowns, literally, household words...
In late 1982, MSB released what would be their final album for EMI: "You Can't Fight Fashion". The single, "My Town", had made it to 29 on Billboard Magazine's charts, sales were good, and the band was on tour, when EMI stunned the band by offering them an 'extension', rather than a contract renewal with a long-term financial comittment. When Michael confidently 'called their bluff', their label pulled the plug, halting promotion and tour-backing immediately.
Although it was a financial blow that staggered the band, they gamely continued performing venues in the Northern Ohio and midwest circuit, producing two independent releases, 1983's "Inside Moves", and "Fourth And Ten" in 1984 (recorded live at Blossom Music Center--a two nighter that saw the venue's all-time attendance records shattered), before formally disbanding in late 1986, shortly after performing nine 'farewell' concerts at Cleveland's Front Row...
"...We broke up not because we didn't like each other, but because we couldn't survive. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. It was like a group divorce," Michael Stanley would later recall, to Cleveland Magazine in a July, 1994 interview.
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Ask Michael: MSBB@aol.com General Info: jipsi@yahoo.com
