Monday, November 19, 2007

The Lifer - Update

Interesting new facts have come to light about The Lifer, specifically the inmates responsible for the record. Thanks to the state of Michigan's prison record system, I've been able to glean some information about the personnel on the record.

When the songs were cut, most of the players on the weren't in prison for life, but for other, comparatively minor sentences. Most of the band members, in fact, were only in for a few years on a charge of Uttering and Publishing, which seems to relate to forgery or passing bad checks, with a couple notable exceptions.

Al Gliva, the songwriter, was in the joint on two occasions: he did 12 years for armed robbery, unlawful use of an automobile, and Unlawfully Driving Away an Automobile. He served time in the clink again for second degree murder, but the records are sketchy here. It looks like he was released in 1967, either on parole or at the end of his sentence.

Clyde Stanley, the man who was employed by my grandfather at his HVAC repair business after WWII, and who built a banjo and guitar for my grandfather bearing the Stanley name while in prison, did worse. He was in the can for 11 years on charges of Uttering & Publishing and Kidnapping. He was released in 1964, and came to St. Louis and found a job with Pat. Four years later, he was convicted of firs degree murder and sentenced to life in Marquette. He died in prison in 1981, the year I was born.

If you have any connection to or any more information about any aspect of the story surrounding The Lifer or the people who made it, please contact me directly at akcarlson@gmail.com, or leave a comment to this post. Please include your email address in your comment, so I can reach you with further questions.

4 comments:

charger said...

I am the Grandson of Clyde M. Stanley you reference in the Lifer.
I am looking for more info on him as I last seen him when I was 7 yrs old.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

This post just happened to catch my eye when I seen the name Clyde Stanley the reason I know of him is because he is the man that murdered my aunt and uncle in Michigan 1966, there names were Ray and Thelma Trombley, they were leaving a hospital facility and when they got away from the building Stanley walked up to them and shot Thelma in the head killing her then as Ray tried to grab Stanley, he also was shot in the head and killed, Stanley was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison and remained in prison until his death in 1981, he was only tried and convicted for the killing of Ray and was never tried for Thelma, this is something my family and relatives have had to live with for the rest of our life, not to disrespect the relatives of Stanley but I have (zero) respect or remorse for Clyde Stanley himself...

Alex said...

Mr. Bundy (I presume),

Thank you for your comment and the information. The details of this story are being lost to time, and I appreciate your input. I'm very sorry for your involvement - and everyone's involvement - in this tragic scenario.

If you'd care to tell me, I'd love to hear more of what you know about the incident. Feel free to contact me directly at akcarlson@gmail.com

Thank you again for taking the time to drop me a line. I'm anxious to hear more.

-Alex