Michael Bolton is an American singer-songwriter from New Haven, Connecticut, known for soft rock ballads, pop rock and soul-influenced singing. Born Michael Bolotin in 1953, he begins his recording career in 1975 and first appears under his original surname before later adopting the name Michael Bolton in 1983. His voice is noted for a wide range and a deep, husky tone.

Career beginnings

Bolton first records in the mid-1970s and initially focuses on hard rock. His early self-titled solo album appears under the name Bolotin, and he also records at RCA Records, singing in a gruff, Joe Cocker-like style on original blue-eyed soul material and cover versions. Those releases do not find much success with either listeners or critics.

He then becomes lead singer of Blackjack, a heavy metal band that makes two albums for Polydor at the end of the 1970s and the start of the 1980s. Blackjack also tours with Ozzy Osbourne.

Mainstream solo success

In 1983 Bolton changes his name, signs to Columbia Records as a solo artist and relaunches his career. His album Michael Bolton reaches the Top 100, and its single “Fools Game” also charts. Around the same time, the song “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You”, which he co-writes, becomes a Top 40 hit for Laura Branigan.

His second Columbia album, Everybody’s Crazy (1985), is a commercial failure. His breakthrough comes with The Hunger (1987), which shifts further toward blue-eyed soul. The album includes “That’s What Love Is All About” and a cover of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”, both Top 40 hits.

Soul Provider follows in 1989 and turns him into a major mainstream success. The album reaches the Top Ten, sells four million copies and produces five Top 40 singles, including his number one version of “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” and Top Ten hits “How Can We Be Lovers” and “When I’m Back on My Feet Again”. “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” wins him a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Time, Love & Tenderness arrives in 1991, reaches number one, sells six million copies and contains four Top 40 singles. These include a chart-topping version of Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” and Top Ten hits “Love Is a Wonderful Thing” and “Time, Love and Tenderness”. He wins another Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “When a Man Loves a Woman”.

Later albums and projects

Bolton follows with Timeless: The Classics in 1992, an album of cover songs that goes to number one, sells three million copies and includes a Top 40 version of the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody”. The One Thing appears in 1993, reaches the Top Ten, sells three million copies and includes the Top Ten single “Said I Loved You...But I Lied”.

He releases Greatest Hits 1985-1995 in 1995, which debuts in the Top Ten, and follows it with the Christmas album This Is the Time: Christmas Album in 1996. All That Matters follows in 1997 as his first album of new material since The One Thing, but it does not produce a hit single and leaves the charts after 15 weeks.

In 1998 he releases My Secret Passion, a collection of opera and arias, which attracts strong press attention and favourable reviews by classical standards. He supports it and All That Matters with a summer tour co-headlined with Wynonna Judd.

After stepping back from public view for almost four years, he returns in 2002 with Only a Woman Like You, his first album on Jive Records. He later issues Til the End of Forever, a release combining seven new recordings with a live greatest-hits concert, and Bolton Swings Sinatra in 2006, a 12-song tribute to Frank Sinatra that includes a duet with actress Nicolette Sheridan.

Achievements

Bolton sells 53 million albums, has eight Top Ten albums and scores two number one singles on the Billboard charts. He also receives awards from the American Music Awards and the Grammy Awards. His catalogue includes “Can I Touch You There”, identified among his notable hit love songs, and he is also known for his co-written song “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You”, later made famous by Laura Branigan and then by his own hit version.