Biography
Stanley was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania of Italian, German, Cherokee Indian, Scotch/Irish and English heritage. He said in a 2002 interview that as a child he was "shy, bright, blessed ... strict father gentle mother ... three beautiful sisters ... parents still married, Dad came home every night and kissed mom full on the lips." Stanley's uncle taught him to play the ukulele at an early age, and at sixteen he got his first recording contract and in 1970 did his first Los Angeles recording session through his friend Cass Elliot of The Mamas & the Papas. Stanley and Elliott remained friends until her death. About his early attempts at songwriting, Stanley said "The Producer told me to write songs, so I did. They were terrible."
Stanley spent time in the United States Air Force during the late 1960s as a Chinese linguist and 1969-1972 studied music at Los Angeles City College and Cal State-Northridge. Upon graduation, Stanley began working as a songwriter for producer Bones Howe, a relationship which led Stanley to a recording contract with Wooden Nickel Records, a Chicago label distributed by RCA.
Read more about this topic: James Lee Stanley
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