Michael Bolton
Bolton is a solo vocalist and has found his success in the "easy listening" genre. Unbeknownst to many, however, Bolton got his musical start in the late seventies with a heavy metal band called BlackJack, in which he was known by his birth name. He began recording as Michael Bolton in 1983. He has also performed with Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Patti Labelle, Ray Charles, Percy Sledge, Wynonna Judd, and BB King.
Although Bolton is known for singing other artists' songs, he is also a prolific songwriter, having written songs for Barbra Streisand, KISS, Kenny Rogers, Kenny G, Cher, Peabo Bryson and Patti Labelle, as well as co-written songs with Bob Dylan, BabyFace and Diane Warren, among others.
Bolton is the father of daughters born in the mid-1970s - Isa, Holly and Taryn.
In 1993, he established the Michael Bolton Foundation (now the Michael Bolton Charities, Inc.) 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 "Walk of Fame" for his musical and charitable contributions.
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Trivia
A character played by David Herman in the 1999 film Office Space was named Michael Bolton, as a playful jab by the scriptwriters at Bolton the singer. In the film, the character receives much derision and is often the subject of questions such as "are you related to the singer?" His rationale for going by "Michael" rather than "Mike," (in order to reduce the similarity between himself and the singer) is that "he's the one who sucks, why should I change?"Discography
- Michael Bolotin (1975)
- Every Day of My Life (1976)
- Michael Bolton (1983)
- Everybody's Crazy (1985)
- The Hunger (1987)
- Soul Provider (1989)
- Time, Love & Tenderness; (1991)
- The One Thing (1993)
- Greatest Hits (1985-1995) (1995)
- All That Matters (1997)
See also
External link
