Sprouting in the mid-‘50s, Michael’s head was first turned by Joe Meek-produced “Telstar” by the Tornados in 1962, and later listened closely when the Beatles put the whole world on its ear. Gifted his first guitar by a doting aunt at age 11, soon the prodigy gained six-string proficiency, began his first furtive attempts at songwriting, and taught himself to play bass, harmonica, and piano over the next few years. The typically teenage pursuit of fronting his own high school band followed, Norwegian Wood, and several other short-lived combos followed. Next, via an ad in a Kansas City newspaper, he happened upon the opportunity of studio work at age 20. During the next few years at Liberty Recording—where Michael Angelo was recorded in 1976—and Big-K (where it was mixed in 1977) he worked steadily, and the eponymously titled debut LP was released on the Big-K subsidiary Guinn Records in 1977.
Michael Angelo
