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Michael Bolton (born Michael Bolotin on February
26, 1953), is an American singer-songwriter,
best known for his soft rock ballads and tenor
vocals.
His achievements include selling 53 million
albums, eight top ten albums, two number one
singles on the Billboard charts, and awards from
both the American Music Awards and Grammy
Awards.
Mainstream success
Bolton's hard rock band, Blackjack, once toured
with heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. He began
recording as Michael Bolotin in 1975, after
gaining his first major hit as a songwriter,
co-writing "How Am I Supposed to Live Without
You" for Laura Branigan, previously best-known
for singing the disco-pop classic "Gloria".
Narrowly missing the Top 10 on the U.S. pop
chart, Branigan took the song to number one on
the Adult Contemporary chart for three weeks.
The two sought to work with each other again,
and their next of several associations was when
Bolton co-wrote "I Found Someone" for Branigan
in 1985. Her version was only a minor hit, but
two years later, Cher resurrected the song, and
with it her own singing career. Bolton co-wrote
several other songs for both singers.
Bolton would achieve his greatest success in the
late eighties and early nineties as a singer in
the adult contemporary/easy listening genre. One
of his first major hits was his 1987
interpretation of the Otis Redding classic, "(Sittin'
On) the Dock of the Bay." Always interested in
soul and Motown classics, Bolton's success with
that song encouraged him to tackle the standard
"Georgia On My Mind," with which he had another
hit. Most of Bolton's recordings are original
material, however, he has also written songs for
such artists as Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers,
Kenny G, Peabo Bryson and Patti LaBelle.
Bolton's early songwriting collaborators
included Doug James and Mark Mangold, and as his
fame grew he began to cowrite with
higher-profile writers such as BabyFace, Diane
Warren, and Bob Dylan. As a singer, he has
performed with Plácido Domingo, Luciano
Pavarotti, José Carreras, Lucia Aliberti, Renée
Fleming, Zucchero, Patti LaBelle, Céline Dion,
Ray Charles, Percy Sledge, Wynonna Judd, and BB
King.
Bolton's last charting single in the US was the
1997 hit "Go the Distance" (featured in the Walt
Disney motion picture Hercules), which peaked at
#24 on the U.S. pop chart.
In March 2007, Bolton toured South Africa for
the first time. He was the headline act at
Jacaranda 94.2 FM's two day concert.
Bolton recorded the song "New York, New York"
(also on his Bolton Swings Sinatra album), for
an album which was recorded in five days, Over
the Rainbow. This was for an episode of the TV
series, Challenge Anneka. The proceeds from the
album went to children's hospices across the UK.
Bolton performed a duet entitled "Il Mio Amico"
with the Italian singer Anna Tatangelo at the
Sanremo Music Festival 2008. The song was
originally sung by Tatangelo alone, but the duet
version contained English lyrics as well. It is
a song about the difficulties of being a
homosexual in Italy, written by Tatangelo's
partner, Gigi D'Alessio.
Appearances in other media
Bolton appeared as an extra in the theatrical
release of Frank Herbert's Dune featuring Sting
and Kyle MacLachlan. In their final fight scene,
he appears as a "spice-eyed" drummer.
In a scene from the 1999 film Office Space, a
character named Michael Bolton (a computer
programmer) makes disparaging remarks about the
singer, calling him a "no-talent ass clown."
When asked about this scene in an interview, the
real-life Bolton replied that he has never seen
the film but has autographed many copies of the
DVD.
He made a cameo appearance in the 2002 film Snow
Dogs as himself during a dream sequence.
In December 2007, Bolton took part in NBC's
Clash of the Choirs. He lead "Team Bolton."
However, they were eliminated in the second
round.
He often sings the national anthem before New
York Yankees games at Yankee Stadium.
Legal troubles
On May 9, 2000, a U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed
a jury's 1994 decision that Bolton's 1991 pop
hit, "Love Is a Wonderful Thing", infringed on
the copyright of the 1964 Isley Brothers song of
the same name, and let stand the jury's award of
$5.4 million against the singer, his co-author,
Andrew Goldmark, and their record company, Sony
Music Entertainment. This was the biggest payout
in musical copyright infringement to date.
Personal life
Bolton is the father of three daughters (Isa,
Holly and Taryn) born during his 1975-1990
marriage to Maureen McGuire. Between 1993 and
1995, he dated Desperate Housewives and Knots
Landing actress Nicollette Sheridan. A decade
later, the couple resumed their relationship. In
late February 2006, Bolton announced that he and
Sheridan were engaged.[2] Bolton stated in a
subsequent Larry King interview that he and
Sheridan have not yet married though the two
have been living as a married couple. They have
yet to set a date for their wedding.
The couple currently resides in Westport,
Connecticut.
Charity work
In 1993, he established the Michael Bolton
Foundation (now the Michael Bolton Charities) to
assist women and children at risk from the
effects of poverty and emotional, physical, and
sexual abuse. The foundation has provided over
$3.7 million in funding to local and national
charities.
Bolton also serves as the honorary chairman of
Prevent Child Abuse America, the national
chairman for This Close for Cancer Research, and
a board member for the National Mentoring
Partnership and the Joe DiMaggio Children's
Hospital.
In March 2003, Bolton joined with Lifetime
Television, Verizon Wireless, and many others to
lobby on behalf of the National Coalition
Against Domestic Violence, urging legislation to
provide more assistance for victims of domestic
violence, such as affordable housing options.
Bolton has received the Lewis Hine Award from
the National Child Labor Committee, the Martin
Luther King Award from the Congress of Racial
Equality, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor
from the National Ethnic Coalition of
Organizations. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
also recognized Bolton with a star on the
"Hollywood Walk of Fame" for his musical and
charitable contributions.
FLY ME TO
THE MOON |
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FOR ONCE IN
MY LIFE |
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I'VE GOT YOU
UNDER MY SKIN |
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MY FUNNY
VALENTINE |
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NEW YORK
,NEW YORK |
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NIGHT AND
DAY |
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SUMMER WIND |
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THAT'S LIFE |
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THE GIRL
FROM IPANEMA |
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THE SECOND
TIME AROUND |
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THEY CAN'T
TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME |
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YOU GO TO MY
HEAD
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