Singer-songwriter Michael Bolotin was born on February 26, 1953 in New Haven, Connecticut. Son to a Russian family, Michael shortened his surname to Bolton in 1983, beginning a successful musical career that led him to sell over 53 million albums.
Specialized in soft rock ballads, Michael Bolton emerged into the musical scene in the middle 1980’s, but he previously formed a heavy metal band called "Blackjack" that was signed to Polydor and performed on stage at one of Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzyfests.
Bolton's voice was often compared to that of Joe Cocker so keeping this in mind, he began to sing blues and cover songs, eventually evolving to soft rock ballads, and signing to Columbia Records in April 1983 to relaunch his musical career but this time as soloist.
Michael Bolton had recorded a couple of albums on Polydor, "Michael Bolotin" (1975) and "Everyday of My Life" (1976), so after changing Bolotin to Bolton, he recorded a self-titled debut album on Columbia Records. This album hit the Billboard Top 100 Bestsellers albums, with the single "Fools Game" peaking at number one on the top-ten charts.
This successful debut produced also a top 40 hit for Laura Branigan, who recorded "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You", song co-written by Bolton, and securing the recording of his second album in 1985, "Everybody's Crazy", another commercial hit album.
Even though, Michael Bolton's worldwide breakthrough came with his third album, "The Hunger", released in 1987, this album definitely closed his heavy metal background with the mellow of his melodic blues ballads, confirmed with their following production, "Soul Provider" album released in 1989.
Michael Bolton has released a total of 19 full-length studio albums from 1975 to 2006, which has sold over 53 million copies, numerous top-ten albums and singles, as well as several awards by both the Grammy Awards and the America Music Awards.
Bolton is also engaged in several social causes since 1993, when he established the Michael Bolton Charities (formerly Michael Bolton foundation), and is honorary chairman for diverse national charities. In March 2007, Michael Bolton went on "Life's Greatest Weekend Out" concert in South Africa.
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