Michael Bolton Artistfacts

February 26, 1953
Michael Bolton was born in New Haven, Connecticut as Michael Bolotin. His parents, Helen (née Gubin) and George Bolotin, were divorced when he was very young.
Michael's first records were hard rock. His first album was self-titled using his original surname, Bolotin, and was released in June 1975, bubbling under at #209 on the Billboard 200.
Michael has three daughters: Isa, Holly and Taryn from his first marriage to Maureen McGuire between 1975 and 1990.
He fronted the rock band Blackjack in 1979-1980, clocking up his first Hot 100 hit, "Love Me Tonight," which made #62 in 1979. Blackjack once opened for Ozzy Osbourne on tour and in 1983 Michael auditioned for the lead vocalist position with Osbourne's former band, Black Sabbath.
In the early '80s, Michael was a struggling rock singer and married father of three. In order to pay the bills, he sang radio and TV jingles for brands such as Dr. Pepper and Budweiser, as well as the US Army jingle "Be All You Can Be."
His first major hit was as a songwriter, co-writing "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" for Laura Branigan, which peaked at #12 in 1983. Six years later, Michael released his own version of this song, which became his first #1 single.
Michael was sued successfully by Ronald Isley and The Isley Brothers over his song "Love Is a Wonderful Thing," which they claimed sounded similar to one that the Isleys composed with the same title. They won $5.4 million - a then record award in a music plagiarism case.
He collaborated with Lady Gaga before her career took off on his 2009 song "Murder My Heart." Bolton explained to The Metro that it was Gaga who first approached him. He recalled: "I was taking a break from production when my manager and the label tag-teamed me on the phone about writing with a young artist named 'Lady Gaga' who I had never heard of - but they were raving about - they said that she was a huge fan of mine and wanted to write with me. No one I knew had heard of her."
Michael's "Jack Sparrow" video with the Lonely Island comedic hip-hop trio was the third most viewed YouTube video in 2011.
Michael published an autobiography, The Soul of It All: My Music, My Life, in January 2013.
Apparently, Lady Gaga is a big Michael Bolton fan. Before her career took off, she asked to collaborate with him, resulting in the song "Murder My Heart" from Bolton's 2009 album One World One Love.
In the 1999 movie Office Space there's a character named Michael Bolton who refuses to change his name, saying, "Why should I change? He's the one who sucks." In 2022, the real Michael Bolton appeared in a Walmart commercial with many cast members from the film, portraying the character but singing at the end of the spot.
In December 2023 Bolton found out he had brain cancer and underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumor. The surgery was successful but treatments affect his speech and mobility. The recurrence rate for his particular cancer, glioblastoma, is high, but he keeps a positive outlook with lots of help from his family, which serves as his support system.

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