CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from March 6, 2021.
As the billboards say, Cleveland will forever be Michael Stanley's town.
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That sentiment, however, will ring especially true on March 25.
At a virtual meeting on Monday, the Cleveland City Council declared that March 25 will be Michael Stanley Day in the city. The date was chosen to reflect the late singer's birthday, with the resolution noting "Michael Stanley will live on through his iconic music and lyrics: ‘thank God for the man who put the white lines on the highway.'"
The Cleveland native and local rock and roll icon passed away at the age of 72 on March 6 following a battle with a "serious health issue." Stanley's death has led to an outpouring of support in Northeast Ohio, with Stanley's time as the frontman of the Michael Stanley Band and as a disc jockey at WNCX having made him a staple of the Cleveland music scene since the mid-1970s.
Shortly after WNCX announced his death, the radio station released a heartfelt letter from Stanley to his fans.
“Hey gang… Well, if you’re reading this then I am off to catch up with that big club tour in the sky," the letter reads. "But before the bus pulls out I wanted to thank all of you for being part of my musical journey, both on the stage, on record, and behind the microphone here at WNCX.”
“Somebody once said that if you love your job then it’s not really work. And if that’s true (and I definitely think it is) then I have been happily out of work for over fifty years!”