Al Staehely is a singer/songwriter from the 1970s. He was featured in

Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

, The Staehely Brothers, The Nick Gravenites / John Cipollina Band and recorded with labels such as Epic and

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...

. He is now an entertainment lawyer based in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. He has specialized in legal matters pertaining to the music and film industries since 1979.

Music career

After receiving his undergraduate degree from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

in 1967 and J.D. from the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

in 1970, Staehely was admitted to the Texas bar before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. In 1971, he replaced John Arliss (who briefly succeeded

Mark Andes Mark Andes (born February 19, 1948) is an American musician, known for his work as a bassist with Canned Heat, Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, Firefall, Heart, and Mirabal. Early life Andes was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in Los Angeles, one ...

) as bassist in the already-established

, touring with drummer

Ed Cassidy Edward Claude Cassidy (May 4, 1923 – December 6, 2012) was an American jazz and rock drummer who was one of the founders of the rock group Spirit in 1967. Biography Ed Cassidy was born in Harvey, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago on May 4 ...

and keyboardist John Locke as a trio while guitarist

Randy California Randy Craig Wolfe (February 20, 1951 – January 2, 1997), known as Randy California, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, and one of the original members of the rock group Spirit, formed in 1967. Life and career California was b ...

convalesced from a horse accident. Shortly thereafter, California departed the group and was replaced by Staehley's brother, John Christian Staehely. Under the aegis of producer David Briggs (best known for his lifelong collaboration with

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...

), the new quartet recorded '' Feedback'' (1972), which showcased the bassist as the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter. Two years later, he wrote ten songs for a Staehely Brothers album (''Sta-Hay-Lee'') also released on Epic Records. Later,

released a solo album by Al Staehely. His songs have been recorded by Keith Moon,

Bobbie Gentry Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is a retired American singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material. Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her Sou ...

, Patti Dahlstrom,

Nick Gravenites Nicholas George Gravenites (; born October 2, 1938) is an American blues, rock and folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his work with Electric Flag (as their lead singer), Janis Joplin, Mike Bloomfield and several influentia ...

John Cipollina John Cipollina (August 24, 1943 – May 29, 1989) was a guitarist best known for his role as a founder and the lead guitarist of the prominent San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. After leaving Quicksilver he formed the ban ...

Marty Balin Martyn Jerel Buchwald (January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018), known as Marty Balin (), was an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the founder/leader and one of the lead singers and songwriters of Jefferson Airplane and J ...

, Peter Cox and Hodges, James & Smith. In an interview, Staley said, "Law didn't lead me to music. Music delivered me to law. Like so many others, I played in bands while in high school (Austin, Texas), in university (The University of Texas) and in law school (The University of Texas School of Law). Unlike most others, I didn't practice law for almost ten years after graduating. I joined the group Spirit, wrote songs, recorded for Epic records and toured the world."

Entertainment lawyer

His clients include musicians, record labels, music publishing companies, and distribution companies. He handles various matters related to recording, publishing, sub-publishing, and licensing both domestically and internationally. Staehely has represented film production companies, optioned life-story rights, and cleared music rights for films including the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated documentary '' For All Mankind''. He also represents clients with respect to litigation in all matters related to the entertainment business, including copyright and trademark issues. In addition to his practice, Staehely has taught music publishing and music business law at both the Art Institute of Houston and St. Thomas University, also in Houston. He has also served as adjunct professor at the

University of Houston Law Center The University of Houston Law Center is the law school of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1947, the Law Center is one of 12 colleges of the University of Houston, a state university. It is accredited by the American Bar A ...

, teaching entertainment law. Staehely is also a member of

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy A ...

, the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers, and the entertainment and sports law section of the Texas Bar and the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

Discography

*''Cadillac Cowboys'' – Al Staehely & The Explosives, 2013, SteadyBoy Records *''Rockpalast: West Coast Legends, Vol. 1'' –

Band, 2009, Fresh Fruit *''Stahaley's Comet'' – Al Staehely, 1982,

(originally released in Europe; re-released in the U.S. by SteadyBoy Records under the name "Al Staehely & 10K Hrs."SteadyBoy Records, "Releases", http://www.steadyboyrecords.com/releases.htm#al August 30, 2011) *''Monkey Medicine'' –

Band, 1982, Big Beat Records *''Sta.Hay.Lee'' – The Staehely Brothers, 1973, Epic Records *''Feedback'' –

Spirit (band) Spirit was an American rock band founded in 1967 and based in Los Angeles. Their most commercially successful single in the United States was "I Got a Line on You". They were also known for their albums, including their self-titled debut albu ...

, 1972, Epic Records

Songs

*''Your Man In Rio'', 2016, Artist - Al Staehely, Single *''Heart of Texas (The Texas Christmas Song)'', 2013, Artist – Al Staehely featuring Mickey Raphael, Single *''Bailout Blues'', 2013, Artist – Al Staehely & The Explosives, Album – Cadillac Cowboys *''Feel The Heat'', 2013, Artist – Peter Cox, Album – Riding the Blinds *''Longshot'', 1982, Artist – Al Staehely, Album – Stahaley's Comets *''The Bluer Side of Town'', 1982, Artist – Al Staehely, Album – Stahaley's Comet *''Ice on Fire'', 1982, Artist – Al Staehely, Album – Stahaley's Comet *''Coastin, 1982, Artist – Al Staehely, Album – Stahaley's Comet *''Mr. X-Terminator'', 1982, Artist – Al Staehely, Album – Stahaley's Comet *''Lovin' Tuff'', 1982, Artist – Al Staehely, Album – Stahaley's Comet *''Low Threshold for Pleasure'', 1982, Artist – Al Staehely, Album – Stahaley's Comet *''Hot Rods and Cool Women'', 1982, Artist – The

Band, Album – Monkey Medicine *''Signs of Life'', 1982, Artist – The

Band, Album – Monkey Medicine *''Trust Me'', 1982, Artist – The

Band, Album – Monkey Medicine *''Mercy of the Moon'', 1991, Artist –

, Album – Better Generation *''Louisiana'', 1975, Artist – Patti Dahlstrom, Album – Your Place or Mine *''He Did Me Wrong, But He Did It Right'', 1975, Artist – Patti Dahlstrom, Album – Your Place or Mine *''Without Love'', 1976, Artist – Patti Dahlstrom, Album – Livin' It Thru *''Lookin' for Love'', 1976, Artist – Patti Dahlstrom, Album – Livin' It Thru *''Crazy Like a Fox'', 1975, Artist – Keith Moon, Album – Two Sides of the Moon *''Future Shock'', 1973, Artist – The Staehely Bros., Album – Sta.Hay.Lee *''Woman in Love'', 1973, Artist – The Staehely Bros., Album – Sta.Hay.Lee *''Woe is Me'', 1973, Artist – The Staehely Bros., Album – Sta.Hay.Lee *''Loco Motive'', 1973, Artist – The Staehely Bros., Album – Sta.Hay.Lee *''Soldiers in the Night'', 1973, Artist – The Staehely Bros., Album – Sta.Hay.Lee *''Captain Zombie Meets Unfellini'', 1973, Artist – The Staehely Bros., Album – Sta.Hay.Lee *''Rockin' in the Bush'', 1973, Artist – The Staehely Bros., Album – Sta.Hay.Lee *''You Won't Be Sorry'', 1973, Artist – The Staehely Bros., Album – Sta.Hay.Lee *''Chelsea Girls'', 1971, Artist –

, Album – Feedback *''Cadillac Cowboys'', 1971, Artist –

, Album – Feedback *''Ripe and Ready'', 1971, Artist –

, Album – Feedback *''Earth Shaker'', 1971, Artist –

, Album – Feedback *''Mellow Morning'', 1971, Artist –

, Album – Feedback *''Right on Time'', 1971, Artist –

, Album – Feedback *''Witch'', 1971, Artist –

, Album – Feedback *''New York City'', 1971, Artist –

, Album – Feedback

References

External links

Music-lawyer.com

alstaehely.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staehely, Al American rock musicians Songwriters from Texas American entertainment lawyers Living people 1945 births Writers from Austin, Texas Musicians from Austin, Texas Spirit (band) members University of Texas School of Law alumni