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/
The Best
Michael Bolton Lyrics
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There ain't no doubt in my mind
All I'm askin' is to keep you near forever
Just till the end of time
Baby I know where love grows
My heart is overflowin'
You're so fine and so true
I've got the best of love
With every breath and every beat of my heart
You know you've got me by my deepest emotion
'Cause you keep givin' me the best of love
Passion and sweet inspiration
So rare and so hard to find
You are my journey and my destination
Queen of this heart of mine
Baby I know where love grows
In my life it's overflowin'
You're so fine and it's so true
I know I've got it all, all because of you, baby
I've got the best of love
With every breath and every beat of my heart
You know ya reach into my deepest emotion
And you keep givin' me, the best of love
With every moment that passes by
This love goes on
It keeps growin' stronger
And the more we're together
The best keeps gettin' better, baby
I've got the best of love
With every breath and every beat of my heart
You know you're down inside my deepest emotion
So just keep givin' me, the best of love
I've got the best of love
With every breath and every beat of my heart
Ain't nothin' finer than that sweetest emotion
Just keep givin' me, just keep on givin' me
The best of love, best of love, best of love
The lyrics of Michael Bolton's song "The Best of Love" express a deep, lasting love for someone special. The singer declares that he knows where love grows and wants to spend forever with his beloved, until the end of time. He talks about the passion and inspiration he feels with this person, and how they are the queen of his heart. The love they share is the best of love, and it keeps getting better as they spend more time together. As the song progresses, he continues to express how this love is the best thing in his life and he is grateful for it.
The lyrics of this song are simple yet powerful, conveying a message of true love that many people can relate to. With lines such as "Passion and sweet inspiration, so rare and so hard to find," the song captures the essence of a deeply committed relationship. Michael Bolton's powerful yet soulful voice adds to the emotion conveyed in the lyrics, making it a beautiful love song that has stood the test of time.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got this somethin' to tell you
I have an important message for you
There ain't no doubt in my mind
I am absolutely sure
All I'm askin' is to keep you near forever
I want you to be with me for eternity
Just till the end of time
Until the very end of existence
Baby I know where love grows
I am aware of the origin of love
My heart is overflowin'
My heart is overwhelmed with emotion
You're so fine and so true
You are both physically and emotionally perfect
I wanna spend my time, spendin' time with you, baby
I want to devote my time to being with you
I've got the best of love
I have found the ultimate experience of love
With every breath and every beat of my heart
My love is always present and never-ending
You know you've got me by my deepest emotion
You have touched the deepest part of my soul
'Cause you keep givin' me the best of love
You constantly provide me with the highest quality love
Passion and sweet inspiration
Intense and uplifting feelings
So rare and so hard to find
Very uncommon and difficult to come across
You are my journey and my destination
You are both the path I take and the end goal
Queen of this heart of mine
You reign over my heart completely
In my life it's overflowin'
My life is filled to the brim with love
I know I've got it all, all because of you, baby
I have everything I need thanks to you
With every moment that passes by
As time goes on
This love goes on
This love continues to exist
It keeps growin' stronger
It becomes more powerful over time
And the more we're together
The longer we are in each other's company
The best keeps gettin' better, baby
Our wonderful relationship keeps improving
Ain't nothin' finer than that sweetest emotion
There is nothing better than the most delightful feeling
Just keep givin' me, just keep on givin' me
Please continue to provide me with
The best of love, best of love, best of love
The absolute highest quality of love
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SHAFFER SMITH, MICHAEL JAMES MANI, JORDAN OMLEY, MICHAEL BOLTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind