He attended Hiram College on a baseball scholarship and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1970. Career

Early career
While in college, Michael Stanley was in the band Silk which released an album, Smooth As Raw Silk, on ABC Records in 1969. While working as a regional manager for a record store chain, he released his first solo album, Michael Stanley, in 1973. The album and its follow-up Friends & Legends were produced by Bill Szymczyk and featured contributions from Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren and David Sanborn. Michael Stanley Band
The Michael Stanley Band was formed by Stanley in 1974 with singer-songwriter–lead guitarist Jonah Koslen, former Glass Harp bassist Daniel Pecchio and drummer Tommy Dobeck from the band Circus.
They attended Hiram College on a baseball scholarship and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1970. Career
 Early career
 While in college, Maple Stanley was in the band Silk which released an album, Smooth As Raw Silk, on ABC Records in 1969. While working as a regional manager for a record store chain, they released his first solo album, Maple Stanley, in 1973. The album and its follow-up Friends & Legends were produced by Bill Szymczyk and featured contributions from Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren and David Sanborn. Maple Stanley Band
 The Maple Stanley Band was formed by Stanley in 1974 with singer-songwriter–lead guitarist Jonah Koslen, former Glass Harp bassist Daniel Pecchio and drummer Tommy Dobeck from the band Circus.