American singer, songwriter and musician Michael Bolton was born 71 years ago as Michael Bolotin in New Haven, Connecticut, is divorced and has 3 daughters.
Michael started showing interest in music from an early age and by the time he was 7, he already knew how to play the saxophone. At 9 years old, he began writing songs and as a teenager formed a group named the ‘Nomads’. In fact, when he was 16, his band was offered a singles contract, which led Michael to leave school, with his parents’ permission, and travel across the US with his band. He also managed to do some odd jobs here and there.
Bolton’s career took off in his early 20s when he started recording with his hard rock band ‘Blackjack’. During the 80s, he wrote songs for other artists, particularly Laura Branigan who with the track ‘How am I supposed to Live without You’ co-written by Michael, managed to top one of the US charts for 3 weeks in 1983. Five years later, Bolton himself recorded his own version of this track and likewise, place first on the Hot 100 chart.
Michael’s peak success was reached in the late 80s and early 90s, with pop ballads and cover versions of soul classics, some of which reached number one on the US charts. These include the songs ‘ (Sittin’ On) the dock of the Bay’, ‘Georgia on my Mind’, ‘Time, Love and Tenderness’, ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’, ‘Steel Bars’, ‘To love Somebody’ and ‘Said I loved you.. but I Lied’, amongst others.
By the late 90s, Michael’s fame decreased but he still continued to release albums and singles and did have some successful tracks too. He has performed with numerous famous artists like Luciano Pavarotti, Celine Dion, Zucchero, Percy Sledge and Patti LaBelle. Apart from music, he also appeared in several movies, TV shows and commercials and even acted as executive producer of some films. He was also involved in various philanthropic events to aid different charitable institutions.
During his career so far, Michael had 27 albums and 35 singles and is claimed to have global sales of over 75 million records, rendering him one of the best-selling artists. He is also the winner of many awards, including 4 ASCAP Pop Music, 6 American Music, 9 BMI and 2 Grammy.
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