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/
Why Me
Michael Bolton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I take one look at you and wonder
Am I still dreamin'?
Are you some kind of angel come down to save me
Or just some place my imagination's tryin' to take me?
What have I done to deserve what I feel?
You give me somethin' that's too good to be real
I need to know just one thing
I still don't understand
Why do you love me?
Why do you give so much?
How do you heal the pain within me?
Is it the power of your touch?
Now that you've opened up the heavens
For this heart of mine to see
I've become the richest man that I could ever be
Baby, why, baby, why me?
Why me, why me?
I ain't got a clue, maybe just a notion
Sometimes I'm helplessly adrift out in the ocean
I feel like a child with one sole intention
In search of an answer that defies all comprehension
I'm in too deep, but that's what you're all about
Got no hope or desire of finding my way out
How does a treasure like you fall into my hands?
I need to know that one thing
Can you help me understand?
Why do you love me?
Why do you give so much?
How do you heal the pain within me?
Is it the power of your touch?
Now that you've opened up the heavens
For this heart of mine to see
I've become the richest man that I could ever be
Baby, why, baby, why me?
Why do you love me?
Why do you give so much?
How do you heal the pain within me?
Is it the power of your touch?
Now that you've opened up the heavens
For this heart of mine to see
I've become the richest man that I could ever be
Baby, why, baby, why me?
Could've been anyone in this world
Why me?
Every lesson that I've learned
You've come to me and shown me
What it means to be loved
What it means to be loved
Why me, why me, why me, why me?
Help me understand just what you've done to me
'Cause I'm the richest man that I could ever be
Tell me why, tell me why, baby
Why me, why me, why me, why me?
Help me understand just what you've done to me
'Cause I'm the richest man that I could ever be
Tell me why, tell me why, baby
The song "Why Me" by Michael Bolton is an ode to the overwhelming feeling of being loved and cared for deeply by another person. The lyrics speak of the singer waking up while their partner is sleeping and feeling amazed by their presence, wondering if it is all just a dream or if the person is indeed an angel sent to save them. The singer then questions what they have done to deserve such a beautiful and pure love, and expresses their gratitude and confusion towards their partner. They wonder how this treasure fell into their hands, and how they can repay their partner for healing the pain within them.
The chorus repeats the questions, "Why do you love me? Why do you give so much? How do you heal the pain within me? Is it the power of your touch?" The singer feels like they are in too deep, but they don't want to escape because their partner is everything to them. The final lines express the singer's overwhelming sense of gratitude and wonder, as they question why they were chosen to be loved so deeply and become the richest person in the world.
Overall, the song is a beautiful tribute to the power and depth of love, and the way it can transform a person's life.
Line by Line Meaning
I wake up while you lie sleepin'
I wake up next to you and I wonder if I'm still dreaming
I take one look at you and wonder
I am amazed and in awe of you
Am I still dreamin'?
I can't believe how lucky I am to have you
Are you some kind of angel come down to save me
I think you are too good to be true
Or just some place my imagination's tryin' to take me?
Or maybe I am imagining that someone like you exists in my life
What have I done to deserve what I feel?
I am questioning why you love me and what I did to deserve your love
You give me somethin' that's too good to be real
You make me feel so loved and happy that it seems unreal
How does a treasure like you fall into my hands?
I am overwhelmed by how lucky I am to have someone like you in my life
I need to know just one thing, I still don't understand
I need to understand why you love me so much
Why do you love me?
I want to understand the reasons behind your love for me
Why do you give so much?
I am touched by how much love and care you give me
How do you heal the pain within me?
You have the power to heal me emotionally
Is it the power of your touch?
I wonder if your touch has the ability to heal me
Now that you've opened up the heavens
Now that I have you, my life is complete
For this heart of mine to see
You have shown me what true love feels like
I've become the richest man that I could ever be
My life is more fulfilled because of you
Baby why, baby why me?
Why did someone as amazing as you choose to love someone like me
I ain't got a clue, maybe just a notion
I have no idea why you love me, but I have a feeling that it is something special
Sometimes I'm helplessly adrift out in the ocean
Sometimes I feel lost and alone, but having you makes everything okay
I feel like a child with one sole intention
I feel like a child who is trying to understand the world, and having you in my life helps me do that
In search of an answer that defies all comprehension
I am searching for an answer to understand why I am so lucky to have you in my life
I'm in too deep, but that's what you're all about
I am deeply in love with you, and that's exactly what you are all about
Got no hope or desire of finding my way out
I never want to lose you or leave this love we share
Could've been anyone in this world
Out of all the people in the world, you chose to love me and I am forever grateful
Every lesson that I've learned
Being with you has taught me so much about love and life
You've come to me and shown me
You have come into my life and shown me what true love feels like
What it means to be loved
You have taught me what it means to truly be loved
Help me understand just what you've done to me
I want to understand how you have changed me for the better
'Cause I'm the richest man that I could ever be
My life is complete and enriched because of you
Tell me why, tell me why, baby
Please tell me why you love me, baby
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: KENNETH EDMONDS, MICHAEL BOLTON, LAMONT DOZIER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind