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/
When I Fall In Love
Michael Bolton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or I'll never fall in love
In a restless world like this is
Love has ended before it's begun
And too many moonlight kisses
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun
When I give my heart it will be completely
And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too
It's when I fall in love with you
And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too
It's when I fall in love with you
Michael Bolton’s “When I Fall in Love” is a classic, romantic ballad that explores the depth of falling in love. The artist sings about his beliefs, proclaiming that when he falls in love, he will fall forever or not at all. He acknowledges that love in the modern world is strange and can end before it even began, but he is holding out for something more. This sentiment is further supported by the line, “too many moonlight kisses seem to cool in the warmth of the sun”, which points to the fleeting nature of modern love.
The artist goes on to explain that when he falls in love, he will do so completely, holding nothing back. He will give his heart completely, or he won’t give it at all. The song concludes with the declaration that the moment the other person reciprocates the same depth of love he feels, that is when he will fall in love with them. This final line sums up the entire sentiment of the song in a beautiful and poignant way, perfectly encapsulating the feelings that accompany falling in love.
Line by Line Meaning
When I fall in love it will be forever
I am looking for a romantic love that will last for a lifetime.
Or I'll never fall in love
If I cannot find true love, then I would rather be alone.
In a restless world like this is
It is difficult to find someone who shares a deep and meaningful connection.
Love has ended before it's begun
It often seems that relationships don't last long in our fast-paced, ever-changing world.
And too many moonlight kisses
Superficial displays of affection are meaningless if there is no true emotion behind them.
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun
Even passionate moments can fade if they are not based on a genuine bond.
When I give my heart it will be completely
Once I decide to love someone, I will do so with my whole being and will be fully committed.
Or I'll never give my heart
If I cannot offer someone my full love and devotion, then I will not pursue a relationship.
And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too
When I sense that my partner shares the same level of connection and commitment, that is when true love blossoms.
It's when I fall in love with you
That magical moment of mutual recognition and love is the pinnacle of romantic happiness.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Edward Heyman, Victor Young
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind