Greatest Blossom Concerts: No. 1 — Michael Stanley Band

Flashback: Stanley, a Cleveland native, emerged in the local music scene in the early 1970s.

• By the end of the decade, Michael Stanley Band had signed to a major label and was setting attendance records at Richfield Coliseum.

The intrigue: To celebrate the release of its forthcoming 1982 album, "MSB," the group and manager Michael Belkin Sr. booked a series of shows at Blossom.

• The concerts took place Aug. 25, 26, 30 and 31, each drawing nearly 19,000 who fought through traffic jams to show up.
• Stanley's seven-piece touring band rewarded each audience with a 29-song set.

What they said: "It was almost like a movie," The Plain Dealer's Jane Scott wrote in her review of the first concert.

• "It is indeed awesome to see almost 19,000 fans — almost four times the population of Chagrin Falls."

What happened next: The Michael Stanley Band would continue to tour until dissolving in 1987.

• Stanley became a local disc jockey and formed a new band, The Resonators, with whom he played until he died in 2021 at age 72.

The bottom line: You'll have a hard time finding a Cleveland music fan of the 1980s who didn't attend at least one of those shows.

Go deeper: Blossom Music Center's 10 most memorable concerts