Singer/songwriter/guitarist
Michael Been was raised in Oklahoma and attended the University of Illinois in Chicago before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career. He formed and led
the Call, which made a series of critically acclaimed albums in the 1980s. He appeared in the 1987 film The Last Temptation of Christ as the Apostle John. In 1993,
Been signed as a solo artist to
Quincy Jones's Qwest Records. He released his debut solo album, On the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough, on April 12, 1994. He returned three years later with another album by
the Call, To Heaven and Back, and 2000's live Live Under the Red Moon. In 2010,
Been died of a heart attack while touring (and working as a sound man) with
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, founded by his son
Robert Levon Been. ~ William Ruhlmann