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.
Michael Bolton had an extensive, though not very successful, career under his real name, Michael Bolotin, before emerging in the mid-'80s as a major soft rock balladeer. Bolton began recording in 1975. This first album was self-titled using his original surname, Bolotin. Early in his musical career, he focused on hard rock. His band, Blackjack, once toured with heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. He turned up on RCA Records in the mid-'70s singing in a gruff, Joe Cocker-like voice both his own blue-eyed soul songs and cover tunes. Neither record buyers nor critics were much interested by the result. He then became the lead singer in Blackjack, a heavy metal band that made two albums for Polydor at the end of the '70s and the start of the '80s. In 1983, he changed his name to Michael Bolton, signed to Columbia Records as a solo act, and relaunched his career.
Michael Bolton was released in April 1983, and made the Top 100 bestsellers, as did its single, "Fools Game." At the same time, "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You," which Bolton had co-written, became a Top 40 hit for Laura Branigan. Nevertheless, Bolton's second Columbia album, Everybody's Crazy (1985), was a commercial flop. His breakthrough came with his third album, The Hunger, released in September 1987. On this album, Bolton abandoned the more hard rock aspects of his style to concentrate on blue-eyed soul singing: both on his own songs, such as "That's What Love Is All About," and on covers like Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay." Those two songs became Top 40 hits.
Soul Provider, released in July 1989, turned Bolton into a superstar, reaching the Top Ten, selling four million copies, and spawning five Top 40 singles, including Bolton's number one version of "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You," and the Top Ten hits "How Can We Be Lovers" and "When I'm Back on My Feet Again." "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" won Bolton a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Time, Love & Tenderness, released in April 1991, was even more successful, hitting number one, selling six million copies, and featuring four Top 40 hits, including the chart-topping cover of Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman," and the Top Ten hits "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" (later the subject of a successful plagiarism suit brought against Bolton by the Isley Brothers) and "Time, Love and Tenderness."
Bolton won another Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, for "When a Man Loves a Woman," but he had to put up with abuse from two camps of detractors at the February 1992 ceremony. Just after Bolton had performed, pre-rock songwriter Irving Gordon won the Song of the Year award for "Unforgettable" and pointedly attacked songs that "scream, yell, and have a nervous breakdown" and singers who "have a hernia" when they sing. Then, backstage, Bolton faced a hostile press corps of critics unhappy with his tendency to copy great soul singers like Redding, Ray Charles, and Sledge. Bolton suggested they apply their lips to a certain part of his anatomy. He further responded with Timeless: The Classics in September 1992, an album made up entirely of cover songs. It went to number one, sold three million copies, and featured a Top 40 hit in Bolton's version of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody." Bolton's next album of original material, The One Thing, came in November 1993. It hit the Top Ten, sold three million copies, and featured the Top Ten hit "Said I Loved You...But I Lied." Bolton released Greatest Hits 1985-1995 in the fall of 1995, which debuted in the Top Ten. The following year, This Is the Time: Christmas Album appeared.
Bolton returned with All That Matters, his first album of new material since 1993's The One Thing, in the fall of 1997. Instead of continuing his success, it was a surprise flop. Not only did it not generate a hit single, it barely cracked the Top 40 and fell out of the charts after 15 weeks. Its lack of success didn't stop Bolton from turning his attention to My Secret Passion, a collection of opera and arias that he released in January 1998. By classical standards, the album was a hit, and the record received a great deal of press and surprisingly good reviews. He supported the two albums with a summer tour which were co-headlined with Wynonna Judd. He voluntarily stepped back for almost four years, disappearing from the public eye until the spring of 2002 when he began promoting Only a Woman Like You, his first album on Jive Records. After a brief sabbatical, he returned with Til the End of Forever, a hybrid new album of seven new recordings and a live greatest-hits concert. In 2006 he released Bolton Swings Sinatra, a 12-song tribute to Ol' Blue Eyes that included a duet with fiancée/actress Nicolette Sheridan.
It would be worth mentioning "Can I Touch You There" proved to be one of the all-time hit love songs from Micheal Bolton from the album Greatest Hits.
www.michaelbolton.com/
Love Cuts Deep
Michael Bolton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Say ya want me back again
Say ya wanna try once more
But a broken heart don't mend
Wasn't all that long ago
You swore that we were through
Don't know what you want from me
First you feel the pain
Then you start to cry
When someone breaks your heart
Just makes you wanna die
Ya feel you can't go on
Can't face another day
Until the hurt is gone
Love cuts you deep that way
I remember I gave my heart completely
I remember the lessons that you taught me
Love cuts deep, baby, love cuts deep
And it leaves a scar
Right across your heart
First you feel the pain
Then you start to cry
When someone breaks your heart
Love cuts you deep inside
I used to call your name
But you were never there
And now you came to me
Expecting me to care
I remember the words you once said to me
Like a knife, those words just cut right through me
Love cuts deep, baby, love cuts deep
And it leaves a scar
Right across your heart
You give your heart to somebody
You give your soul to someone
You love somebody
You love somebody
And they're gone, gone, gone
You gave your heart to somebody
You gave your soul to someone
You loved somebody
You loved somebody
And they're gone, gone
Somebody finally taught you
Love cuts deep, baby, love cuts deep
And it leaves a scar
Right across your heart
The lyrics of Michael Bolton's "Love Cuts Deep" explore the emotional pain and heartbreak caused by a failed relationship. The song portrays the complexities of dealing with a lost love that has suddenly resurfaced - on one hand, the singer feels a strong desire to be with their ex-partner again, but on the other hand, they are conflicted because their previous heartbreak left them scarred and afraid to trust again. The chorus emphasizes the theme of heartbreak and the permanence of emotional scars caused by love, which can't simply be repaired by just wanting to try again.
The verses describe the singer's feelings of devastation after their relationship ended, as well as the pain caused by their partner's words and behavior leading up to the breakup. The bridge emphasizes the idea that love can bring both joy and pain, and that the risks of being vulnerable and open to love can be difficult to face. Overall, "Love Cuts Deep" is a poignant exploration of the complexities of relationships and human emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
You're knockin' on my door
You are coming back to me after leaving me heartbroken
Say ya want me back again
You express your desire to come back to me
Say ya wanna try once more
You request another chance to try the relationship again
But a broken heart don't mend
However, my heart is still broken and cannot be fixed
Wasn't all that long ago
It hasn't been very long since you broke up with me
You swore that we were through
You made a promise that our relationship was over
Don't know what you want from me
Now, you have come back, but I don't know what you are expecting from me
Don't know what I need from you
I am also unsure of what I want from you
First you feel the pain
When someone breaks your heart, you feel the pain as the first reaction
Then you start to cry
The pain causes you to cry and feel upset
When someone breaks your heart
When someone you love leaves, it breaks your heart
Just makes you wanna die
The breakup can make you feel like you cannot go on with life
Ya feel you can't go on
It seems impossible to keep going without the person you love
Can't face another day
The pain is unbearable, and getting through another day seems impossible
Until the hurt is gone
You cannot move on with your life until the pain and hurt are gone
Love cuts you deep that way
Love hurts badly when someone leaves you
I remember I gave my heart completely
I recall that I gave you my heart and my all
I remember the lessons that you taught me
You taught me some lessons during the time we spent together
Love cuts deep, baby, love cuts deep
Love causes a deep pain that is difficult to heal
And it leaves a scar
The pain and hurt of love linger on, leaving a permanent scar
Right across your heart
The pain of love affects the heart deeply
I used to call your name
I used to call out to you hoping that you would respond
But you were never there
But you were never there for me, regardless of how much I called out to you
And now you came to me
And now that you have decided to come back to me
Expecting me to care
You expect me to still have feelings for you and care about you
I remember the words you once said to me
I remember your words that hurt me deeply when you left me
Like a knife, those words just cut right through me
Your words hurt me like a sharp knife when you broke up with me
You give your heart to somebody
When you love someone, you give them your heart
You give your soul to someone
You also give them your soul, and they become a part of you
You love somebody
You put your trust in someone and love them
And they're gone, gone, gone
However, they can leave as suddenly as they came
Somebody finally taught you
Perhaps someone else has taught you how much love can hurt
Love cuts deep, baby, love cuts deep
Love can cause a pain that is hard to get rid of
And it leaves a scar
After the pain, there may still be a visible reminder of the love that you once had
Right across your heart
The reminder of the love you lost will remain close to your heart
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Realsongs
Written by: MICHAEL BOLTON, DIANE WARREN, DESMOND CHILD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind