Michael Bolton is a famous American Singer and Songwriter is known for his Pop rock ballads. He started out with hard rock and heavy metal but during the 80s he completely changed his style to ballads. This change in style got him the attention he needed as an artist.
Born in New Haven Connecticut, this 69-year-old actor and singer is the winner of two Grammy Awards and six American Music Awards. He started his music career in 1975 at The Church Studio which is located in Oklahoma. But it was only in the late 80s he achieved popularity.
Michael Bolton’s Music Career
Michael Bolton performing, Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
He is famous for his soft rock, Pop rock, and blue-eyed soul. Though he started his music career in the early 70s with heavy metal and rock it was once he changed his style his music began to become popular. As a songwriter, his first hit was when he co-wrote a song for Laura Branigan called “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You”. Later in his career, he recreated this song as his own rendition which became number one on the Hot 100.
As a singer, his greatest success was during the late 80s and early 90s. During this time he made his interpretation of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay”. It was one of his major hits, it is also the song that made people notice him.
Michael Bolton’s Copyright infringement issue.
Michael Bolton Credit Getty
Around the 90s Bolton was caught up in a copyright infringement lawsuit with the American R&B group the Isley Brothers. On February 24, 1993, the Isley Brothers filed a lawsuit against him. According to the lawsuit, they claimed that “Love Is a Wonderful Thing”, one of Bolton’s hit songs, is plagiarized. They accused him of copying the song they created in 1966 which had the same name.
Michael Bolton Perfroming
After hearing the case the jury ruled in favor of the plaintiff. The results came on April 25, 1994. According to the documents released by the jury, there were instances of plagiarism in Bolton’s song. To be precise there were five instances where plagiarism was found.
As compensation for this Bolton along with his co-writer and sony publication was asked to pay $5 million to Isley Brothers. In the music industry, it was the first time that such a huge amount was given as compensation for plagiarism.
Despite the jury’s decision Bolton decided to go for an appeal. The fight went on for more than seven days and was only concluded on January 22, 2001, when The supreme court refused to hear the appeal.
He does not limit himself to just singing; he has also tried his hands at acting. He has done numerous cameo appearances in feature films such as Two and A Half Men, The Nanny, and Meet Wally Sparks.
How is Michael Bolton’s health?
Young Michael Bolton Credit: AP
There were rumors of Michael Bolton’s deteriorating health when he canceled his concert in Oulu, Finland. They gave a vague answer for the illness that caused this delay. A similar thing happened on October 5, 2021, when he withdrew from his concert in wales. It was a last-minute cancellation, minutes before the event. This time it was cited that he caught an illness due to which they were not able to continue the concert.
There were never any statements from him or his team regarding his illness. As soon as he did, he continued with his team. This incident coupled with his appearance on the Morning Show Premiered in 2019 made people speculate about his illness. Many fans took it to Twitter, saying that something about the way he moved or walked resembled that of a disease.
As of now, there is no confirmation from his side about this allegation. There were also rumors about him having prostate cancer. There are no statements from him or his team regarding these health allegations. Not only did he ignore these rumors he also held his first concert in a very long time in January 2023 in Seoul, South Korea. This year is completely booked for him with numerous tours and TV show appearances.
