Free Republic

Michael Stanley, who was the very symbol of rock ‘n roll for decades in the city of Cleveland, died Friday at age 72. The cause of death was lung cancer, diagnosed seven months earlier. Stanley’s illness became known when he took leave of his usual afternoon radio shift at Cleveland’s 98.5 WNCX in late February and the station released a statement requesting prayers for his family In a letter posted Saturday on the radio station’s website, Stanley wrote a farewell to fans: “Hey gang… Well, if you’re reading this then I am off to catch up with that big club...

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Nearly 50 years ago, on his self-titled first solo album, Michael Stanley offered a plaintive view about mortality: Here’s a song for a friend soon gone A friend whose life and mine became entwined Leaving soon for a lifetime/Leaving part of you behind Stanley, who passed away Friday at the age of 72 from lung cancer, leaves more than a small part of himself behind in his native Cleveland -- and a gaping hole in a city where he was a rock ‘n’ roll king and a much-loved, award-winning radio and television personality.