Monday, March 08, 2021

Michael Stanley 1948-2021

This death shit is really starting to piss me off.

Stanley was one of those blue collar heartland rockers who was bigger in his home town (in this case Cleveland, where he had been the afternoon deejay for a classic rock station since 1990) than elsewhere, although he was briefly a familiar presence on MTV back in the day.

I should add that the above song/video is one of my favorite things ever; the dancing in the hospital room scene still cracks me up.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

He was very popular there in the Midwest and revered in Cleveland. 'Rosewood Bitters' still a lovely tune. God Speed Mr. Stanley.

Mark said...

My introduction to Michael Stanley was through his first two albums (Michael Stanley, and Friend and Legends), both of which featured Joe Walsh on tracks. Walsh remains a God to me to this day.

Stanley's first album was on the tiny Tumbleweed label, a label started by Bill Szymczyk (of B.B. King, James Gang and later, Eagles fame), and has a beautiful blue cover with an image of Stanley, with suitcase and guitar in hand, waiting for a train at what looks like an old Midwestern station.