Background and career
Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo albums and those he recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack. His early career also saw him as a successful songwriter, co-writing hits such as "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" for Laura Branigan, which he later recorded as a solo single. Bolton achieved peak recognition as a pop ballad singer in the late 1980s and early 1990s with collaborations with songwriters such as Diane Warren and Desmond Child. During that time, he covered such songs as Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman". Despite his commercial success in the adult contemporary genre, Bolton faced criticism for being derivative. In 2000, he faced a controversial legal battle with the Isley Brothers over plagiarism, which resulted in a substantial financial settlement. In later years, he ventured into various other media, including television and film, often appearing as himself. Bolton also participated in Dancing with the Stars and produced the documentary American Dream: Detroit. His personal life includes a long-term relationship and broken engagement with the actress Nicollette Sheridan and a 15-year marriage to Maureen McGuire, with whom he has three daughters. Bolton is also known for his philanthropic efforts, particularly through The Michael Bolton Charities, although he has faced criticism over the way funds raised by the organization have been allocated. He has been recognized for his contributions to music and charity, including receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Bolton has sold more than 75 million records, and recorded eight top 10 albums and two number-one singles on the Billboard charts, as well as winning six American Music Awards and two Grammy Awards. He has performed with artists including Lucia Aliberti, Patti LaBelle, José Carreras, Tony Cetinski, Ray Charles, Celine Dion, Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Wynonna Judd, B.B. King, The Lonely Island, Luciano Pavarotti, Percy Sledge, and Zucchero.
Bolton was born Michael Bolotin on February 26, 1953, in New Haven, Connecticut. His father, George, was a local official in the Democratic Party, and his mother, Helen, was a homemaker. He has a brother, Orrin, and a sister, Sandra. By age 7, Bolton was able to play the saxophone. He began writing songs at age 9. At age 14, he formed a group, the Nomads, that were signed to a singles contract by Epic Records when Bolton was 16. With his parents' permission, he dropped out of high school and left home at age 15 to travel cross country along U.S. Route 66 and pursue music full-time. He took odd jobs, including as Paula Abdul's babysitter.
Bolton began recording in 1975 at The Church Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This first album was self-titled using his original family name of Bolotin. Early in his musical career, he focused on hard rock, with his band Blackjack once opening for heavy metal artist Ozzy Osbourne on tour. It was rumored that in 1983 Bolton auditioned for, but was denied, the lead vocalist position with Osbourne's former band, Black Sabbath. Bolton later stated this was untrue, saying "That rumor about me auditioning for Black Sabbath was only a rumor, I don't know how on earth it started." In 2004, Bolton's 1980 song "Maybe It's the Power of Love" with Blackjack was sampled by rapper Kanye West for his song "Never Let Me Down". After anglicizing his family name to Bolton, he gained 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 pop hit "Gloria". Narrowly missing the Top 10 on the US pop chart, Branigan took the song to number one on the Adult Contemporary chart for three weeks in 1983. The two sought to work with each other again, and their next collaboration 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 recorded his own rendition of "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" in 1988, which reached number one on the Hot 100.
Bolton achieved his greatest success as a pop singer in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He performed songs written by or co-written with major hit songwriters of the era including Diane Warren and Desmond Child (as well as "Steel Bars" penned by Bolton and Bob Dylan), but also had several hits that were remakes of 1960s soul classics. One of his first major hits was his 1987 interpretation of the Otis Redding classic "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay". Redding's widow, Zelma Redding, said she was so moved by Bolton's performance "that it brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me so much of my husband that I know if he heard it, he would feel the same." Always interested in soul music and Motown classics, Bolton had a 1989 hit with a version of "Georgia on My Mind", a song associated with Ray Charles. In 1991, he released the album Time, Love & Tenderness which featured his Grammy Award-winning cover version of "When a Man Loves a Woman", first recorded by Percy Sledge. From 1987 to 1995, Bolton had four top ten albums and seven top ten songs in the U.S. He had even greater success on the adult contemporary chart, where he had a string of 14 consecutive top ten hits, including eight number ones. Bolton also had 12 top ten songs in Canada, but was less successful outside of North America with four top ten singles in the UK and a few others in various other European countries. Bolton's work during the period has been criticized for being derivative, and in 1992, the Isley Brothers filed a lawsuit against Bolton, claiming his 1991 hit song "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" plagiarized their 1966 song of the same name. A fifteen-year legal battle resulted in a $4.2 million payment to the Isleys from Bolton, his co-writer and their publisher. A previous similar lawsuit regarding "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" had been settled in Bolton's favor.
Bolton's last Top 40 single in the US was the 1997 hit "Go the Distance" (from the Disney animated movie Hercules), which peaked at No. 1 on the US adult contemporary chart. He hired conductor Larry Baird, the orchestral musical director, conductor, and arranger for The Moody Blues, Three Dog Night, and Al Jarreau, for his 2001 tour.
Bolton's popularity declined in the late 1990s, but he continued to have adult contemporary hits through the mid-2000s. He released albums every year or two through the mid-2010s. His album Only a Woman Like You was released in 2001 with the title song co-written by Shania Twain. In 2006, Bolton and Nicollette Sheridan, his fiancée at the time, sang a duet, "The Second Time Around", for the album Bolton Swings Sinatra. For Over the Rainbow, an album which was recorded in five days, Bolton recorded the song "New York, New York", which was also on his Bolton Swings Sinatra album. 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 released his album One World One Love in the UK on September 21, 2009. The first single, "Just One Love", was released one week earlier. In June 2011, Bolton collaborated with Indian musician A. R. Rahman for a song recorded for Gems – The Duets Collection. In 2013, Bolton released the album Ain't No Mountain High Enough: A Tribute to Hitsville U.S.A., which featured duets with Kelly Rowland, Melanie Fiona and Orianthi.
