Jonah Koslen is an American singer-songwriter and musician best known for his work with the

Michael Stanley Band Michael Stanley (born Michael Stanley Gee; March 25, 1948 – March 5, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, radio and television personality. Both as a solo artist and with the Michael Stanley Band (MSB), his brand of heartland r ...

and Breathless in the 1970s and 1980s.

Biography

After graduating from

Beachwood High School Beachwood High School is a four-year college preparatory public high school located in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. It is part of the Beachwood City School District. Recognition Beachwood has earned three U.S. Department of Education Bl ...

, Koslen joined the

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

-based band, Snake Eyes, with former

Eli Radish Band The Eli Radish Band was a Cleveland, Ohio-based band active from 1968 to 1973. They were considered pioneers of " outlaw country" and "alt-country" music. The group signed with Capitol Records in 1969 and released its only album ''I Didn't Rai ...

bassist

Danny Sheridan Danny Sheridan (October 11, 1950 – May 24, 2016) was an American musician, songwriter, producer, actor, and entertainment manager. In 2006 he also became a radio personality on 97.1 KLSX Free FM (CBS Los Angeles). He is credited as an influ ...

. In 1974, he joined with

Michael Stanley Michael Stanley (born Michael Stanley Gee; March 25, 1948 – March 5, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, radio and television personality. Both as a solo artist and with the Michael Stanley Band (MSB), his brand of heartland r ...

Daniel Pecchio Glass Harp are a rock band formed in Youngstown, Ohio in 1968 consisting of Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio. Early years Phil Keaggy was a member of a mid-1960s garage rock band called the Squires; one of their songs ...

, formerly of

Glass Harp A glass harp (also called musical glasses, singing glasses, angelic organ, verrillon or ghost fiddle) is a musical instrument made of upright wine glasses. It is played by running moistened or chalked fingers around the rim of the glasses. Each ...

, and Tommy Dobeck to form The Michael Stanley Band. During his tenure with the band, they released three albums for

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

and became popular in

Northeast Ohio The region Northeast Ohio, in the US state of Ohio, in its most expansive usage contains six metropolitan areas ( Cleveland–Elyria, Akron, Canton–Massillon, Youngstown–Warren, Mansfield, and Weirton–Steubenville) along with eight m ...

. Sharing songwriting duties with Stanley, Koslen contributed two of the group's classic songs: "Strike Up the Band" and "Nothing's Gonna Change My Mind". Koslen left the Michael Stanley Band in 1977 and formed the band Breathless the following year. Breathless consisted of Koslen, bassist Bob Benjamin, drummer

Kevin Valentine Kevin Valentine is an American rock drummer who is best known for being a member of Donnie Iris and the Cruisers. Valentine played drums on all of the band's early albums during the 1980s. Valentine has recorded as a member of Breathless, The I ...

, percussionist Rodney Psyka, guitarist Alan Greene and keyboardist

Mark Avsec Mark Avsec (born August 23, 1954) is an American rock keyboardist, songwriter, and producer. He was a member of the funk rock band Wild Cherry. Avsec was an original member of Donnie Iris & the Cruisers. He wrote or co-wrote all of the band's m ...

, formerly with Wild Cherry. Signed to

EMI America Records EMI America Records was started in 1978 by EMI as a second United States, US label next to Capitol Records. It absorbed Liberty Records in 1984. In the late 1980s, EMI America was consolidated with Manhattan Records to form EMI Manhattan Records ...

, the group released their debut album ''Breathless'', produced by

Don Gehman Don Gehman is an American record producer, engineer, and executive, best known for his work with John Mellencamp and Hootie & the Blowfish. He was one of "the most successful producers of the 1980s and 1990s." As a sound engineer, he also helped ...

, in July 1979. Following the album's release, Breathless toured as an opening act, including a dozen shows opening for

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

. The single, "Takin' It Back", scratched the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 92, but the album did not chart. With support from Cleveland radio station

WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock st ...

, Breathless became a popular act locally, headlining

Blossom Music Center Blossom Music Center, locally referred to simply as Blossom, is an outdoor amphitheatre in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, United States. The venue is the summer home of The Cleveland Orchestra and site of the ensemble’s annual Blossom Festival. Blossom M ...

in June 1980. The band released its second album, ''Nobody Leaves This Song Alive'' in October 1980. Again, the album received airplay in Northeast Ohio but failed to catch on nationally. Breathless disbanded in 1981, with Avsec and Valentine joining

Donnie Iris Donnie Iris (born Dominic Ierace, February 28, 1943) is an American rock musician known for his work with the Jaggerz and Wild Cherry during the 1970s, and for his solo career beginning in the 1980s with his band, the Cruisers. He wrote the ...

' band "The Cruisers". Koslen formed another band, Jonah Koslen and the Heroes, that released the album ''Aces'', in 1983, and also the albums ''Orange'' and ''Agora Live'', but they soon broke up. After that Koslen moved to California and worked on various music projects. He briefly reunited with Michael Stanley in 1993 for the album ''The Ghost Poets''.

Discography

Albums

; Michael Stanley Band *1975: ''You Break It...You Bought It!'' *1976: ''Ladies' Choice'' *1977: ''Stagepass'' *1992: ''Right Back at Ya (1971–1983)'' *1997: ''Misery Loves Company: More of the Best 1975–1983'' ; Solo *1978: ''Back Tracks'' *2008: ''Telling on Myself'' ; Breathless *1979: ''Breathless'' *1980: ''Nobody Leaves This Song Alive'' *1993: ''Picture This...The Best of Breathless'' ; Jonah Koslen and the Heroes *1983: ''Aces'' *1984: ''Orange'' * ''Agora Live'' ; The Ghost Poets *1993: ''The Ghost Poets''

References

Other sources

*Adams, Deanna. ''Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection'' (2002): pp. 261–268, pp. 416–418 1952 births Living people Musicians from Cleveland American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Ohio {{US-singer-stub