MICHAEL BOLTON
Name: Michael Bolton
Birth name: Michael Bolotin
Born: 26 February 1953 New Haven, Connecticut
Michael Bolton (born Michael Bolotin on February 26, 1953), is an American
singer-songwriter, 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.
Bolton was born in 1953 to a Jewish family in New Haven, Connecticut. The
youngest of three children, he received his first record label contract at the
age of 15.
Bolton's hard rock band, Blackjack, once toured with heavy metal singer Ozzy
Osbourne. He began recording as Michael Bolotin in 1983, 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 pop Top 10, Branigan took the song to number one on the
Adult Contemporary charts 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 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, and 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 Placido Domingo,
Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras, Lucia Aliberti, Renee Fleming, Zucchero, Patti
LaBelle, Celine Dion, Ray Charles, Percy Sledge, Wynonna Judd, and BB King.
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.
Name: Michael Bolton
Birth name: Michael Bolotin
Born: 26 February 1953 New Haven, Connecticut
Michael Bolton (born Michael Bolotin on February 26, 1953), is an American
singer-songwriter, 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.
Bolton was born in 1953 to a Jewish family in New Haven, Connecticut. The
youngest of three children, he received his first record label contract at the
age of 15.
Bolton's hard rock band, Blackjack, once toured with heavy metal singer Ozzy
Osbourne. He began recording as Michael Bolotin in 1983, 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 pop Top 10, Branigan took the song to number one on the
Adult Contemporary charts 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 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, and 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 Placido Domingo,
Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras, Lucia Aliberti, Renee Fleming, Zucchero, Patti
LaBelle, Celine Dion, Ray Charles, Percy Sledge, Wynonna Judd, and BB King.
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.