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/
Once In A Lifetime
Michael Bolton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And days that slip away
Some search till the end of time, but never find
The open arms of fate
One moment comes along, someone who's a dream to you
All at once your dreams come true
Once in a lifetime, you find the one you really love
Once in a lifetime, when every star that lights the sky
Will shine with one reason, leading your heart to the one love you find
Just once in a lifetime
Some people live their lives in compromise
And hide their dreams away
Some never take the chance, within their hands
To claim the prize they make
When faith is all you need, to hold the hand of destiny
Find the love that's meant to be
If you believe in the power of love
And you believe that dreams come true
Magic will fill your heart, when that moment comes along
Just once in a lifetime
Once in a lifetime, when every star that lights the sky
Will shine with one reason, leading you home to the one love you find
Just once in a lifetime, Just once in a lifetime
The lyrics of Michael Bolton's song "Once In A Lifetime" speak to the fleeting nature of true love, and the importance of seizing the opportunities that come our way. The first verse reflects on the ways in which people can fill their lives with meaningless activities and allow time to slip away without finding true love or fulfilling their dreams. However, the second verse encourages listeners to take a leap of faith and pursue what they truly desire, because the moment will come when fate aligns and the perfect person enters their life. The chorus repeats the phrase "once in a lifetime," emphasizing the rarity and preciousness of this kind of love.
The song serves as a reminder to cherish and appreciate the significant relationships in our lives and to not take them for granted. The lyrics urge listeners to reach for their dreams and to believe in the power of love and destiny. The song's melody captures this message, starting in a mellow key and steadily building to a triumphant chorus that celebrates the joy of finding true love.
Line by Line Meaning
People fill their lives, with empty nights,
Many people experience days that feel empty and meaningless.
And days that slip away
Sometimes, days go by without them being noticed or experienced fully.
Some search till the end of time, but never find,
Despite searching for a long time, some do not find what they are looking for in life.
The open arms of fate
The opportunities that were meant for them, as determined by fate.
One moment comes along, someone who's a dream to you,
At times, there exists a special someone who is the epitome of your dreams.
All at once your dreams come true
When that person arrives, it feels like all your dreams and desires are fulfilled.
[Chorus:]
Refrain
Once in a lifetime, you find the one you really love
There exists one point in time when you find the one person you truly love.
For now and forever, one love that never ends
This love is meant to last forever and never fade.
Once in a lifetime, when every star that lights the sky
This occurs when every star in the sky aligns, signifying a rare and unique opportunity.
Will shine with one reason, leading your heart to the one love you find
This opportunity will point you in the direction of the one person you belong with.
Just once in a lifetime
This experience only occurs once in a person's lifetime.
Some people live their lives in compromise,
Some settle for less than they deserve in life.
And hide their dreams away
They put their dreams on hold or hide them from the world.
Some never take the chance, within their hands,
Some do not seize the opportunities presented to them.
To claim the prize they make
They do not get what they could have had they taken advantage of the chance.
When faith is all you need, to hold the hand of destiny,
Belief in oneself and the plan that fate outlines will allow you to hold onto what is fatefully meant for you.
Find the love that's meant to be
This will allow you to find the love that was meant for you.
[Chorus]
Refrain
If you believe in the power of love
Belief in the power of love is essential.
And you believe that dreams come true
The belief that dreams may materialize is crucial.
Magic will fill your heart, when that moment comes along
When that person arrives, it feels like magic filling up one's heart.
Just once in a lifetime
This experience only occurs once.
Once in a lifetime, when every star that lights the sky
This opportunity is once in a lifetime, marked by the aligning of every star in the sky.
Will shine with one reason, leading you home to the one love you find
This opportunity will lead you back to the one person who is meant for you.
Just once in a lifetime, Just once in a lifetime
This rare, unique experience only happens once in a person's lifetime.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Realsongs, Sentric Music, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Michael Derek Bolton, Diane Eve Warren, Walter N. Afanasieff
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind