Tony Stein grew up as the middle of five
kids in a Jewish Chicago family. He
always felt somewhat overshadowed by his older and younger siblings, as
evidenced by his determination to always do things for attention. For
instance, Tony loved surf music during his teens and often showed up to
Temple wearing his Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops. His mother Mary was
livid, while his father Jack secretly cheered his son on for his
individuality.
From a very young age, it was obvious that Tony was very talented - just not academically. Having been branded a "slow learner," he was placed in special education classes early on and continued to deal with the stigma of being labeled "slow" throughout the rest of his schooling. Only when he was much older did he discover the true reason for his poor performance in school - he was dyslexic.
Still, a lifetime of damage had already been done by that time and to this day, Tony bristles when he hears the word "stupid." He is an extremely placid individual, but one way to get him to snap is to call him that. He cannot stand it.
Tony began his first garage band very young and continued writing songs into his twenties. During the first few years of his first marriage, Tony stayed unemployed, staying home and working on his songs all day, much to wife Kathy's dismay. However, all his hard work paid off in August of 1980, when he met Joel Gibson.
Joel was very impressed by the voice and songwriting abilities Tony possessed and vowed to help him get a start in music. They made a demo and sent it to all the major labels in the business, but got nothing in response. Tony was extremely discouraged, but Joel told him not to give up, beginning the label JLN Records strictly as a platform for Tony's many gifts.
His first album released in October of 1982 and took off like a rocket. Before he could even blink, Tony was thrust into a stardom he never could have imagined. And while it was thrilling, it also proved to be fatal for his already faltering marriage. Kathy could not handle her husband's time away and was leery of his closer-than-close relationship with Mel. In late 1985, she filed for a divorce.
Shocked and devastated, Tony vowed to do everything he could to keep his marriage together. He even asked to be released from his JLN contract so he could spend more time at home. It was too little, too late, however and the divorce was finalized in early 1986. Tony then sought refuge in Europe for a few months, to gather his thoughts. When he returned, he found a new love in Kristen, who had been Phoenix's roommate. No one believed they would last, but they were married on April 14, 1987 and now have twin sons, Cullen and Micah.
Tony signed back on to JLN in early 1988 and recorded a comeback album that has proven to be his most successful yet. Things in his personal life seem to have evened out as well, with Kristen deciding to convert to his Jewish faith and single-handedly keeping him sane on the BLT tour. Right now, things seem to be pretty good for Tony...but how long will they stay that way?
From a very young age, it was obvious that Tony was very talented - just not academically. Having been branded a "slow learner," he was placed in special education classes early on and continued to deal with the stigma of being labeled "slow" throughout the rest of his schooling. Only when he was much older did he discover the true reason for his poor performance in school - he was dyslexic.
Still, a lifetime of damage had already been done by that time and to this day, Tony bristles when he hears the word "stupid." He is an extremely placid individual, but one way to get him to snap is to call him that. He cannot stand it.
Tony began his first garage band very young and continued writing songs into his twenties. During the first few years of his first marriage, Tony stayed unemployed, staying home and working on his songs all day, much to wife Kathy's dismay. However, all his hard work paid off in August of 1980, when he met Joel Gibson.
Joel was very impressed by the voice and songwriting abilities Tony possessed and vowed to help him get a start in music. They made a demo and sent it to all the major labels in the business, but got nothing in response. Tony was extremely discouraged, but Joel told him not to give up, beginning the label JLN Records strictly as a platform for Tony's many gifts.
His first album released in October of 1982 and took off like a rocket. Before he could even blink, Tony was thrust into a stardom he never could have imagined. And while it was thrilling, it also proved to be fatal for his already faltering marriage. Kathy could not handle her husband's time away and was leery of his closer-than-close relationship with Mel. In late 1985, she filed for a divorce.
Shocked and devastated, Tony vowed to do everything he could to keep his marriage together. He even asked to be released from his JLN contract so he could spend more time at home. It was too little, too late, however and the divorce was finalized in early 1986. Tony then sought refuge in Europe for a few months, to gather his thoughts. When he returned, he found a new love in Kristen, who had been Phoenix's roommate. No one believed they would last, but they were married on April 14, 1987 and now have twin sons, Cullen and Micah.
Tony signed back on to JLN in early 1988 and recorded a comeback album that has proven to be his most successful yet. Things in his personal life seem to have evened out as well, with Kristen deciding to convert to his Jewish faith and single-handedly keeping him sane on the BLT tour. Right now, things seem to be pretty good for Tony...but how long will they stay that way?