CLEVELAND — Editor's Note: The above video aired on March 6, 2021
As you drive around Northeast Ohio, chances are you will come across a billboard that pays tribute to Michael Stanley.
The beloved musician and WNCX radio personality passed away last weekend at the age of 72.
The billboard has a picture of Stanley with the tribute "Forever Your Town," a nod to "My Town," one of the biggest hits of the Michael Stanley Band. MSB recorded 11 studio albums and set concert attendance records at both the Richfield Coliseum and Blossom Music Center. "My Town" and "He Can't Love You" both were Top 40 hits for the Michael Stanley Band. The band broke up in 1987, but Stanley continued to play his music to audiences for decades to come. He also would go on to host several local television shows and serve as the afternoon drive host on 98.5 WNCX for more than three decades.
Stanley had been battling a serious illness for some time, and his former manager and best friend David Spero confirmed to 3News that the entertainment legend passed away in his sleep Friday night at the age of 72. WNCX later wrote that Stanley had been battling lung cancer for the past seven months "with the same strength and dignity he carried throughout his life."
More Michael Stanley coverage:
Editor's Note: The below video aired on March 6, 2021