In recognition of his artistic achievements, Michael has received 2 Grammys for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance, 6 American Music Awards, and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As a songwriter, he has earned over 24 BMI & ASCAP Awards, including Songwriter of the Year, 9 Million-Air awards, andthe Hitmakers Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Internationally renowned, Michael has recorded and performed with musical icons that have inspired and influenced his own career. He joined Luciano Pavarotti on stage in a highly praised rendition of Vesti La Giubba, and pays homage to the Italian tenor when performing the aria Nessun Dorma at each of his concerts while on tour. He has sung with Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Renee Fleming and played guitar with BB King. Bolton earned a Grammy-nomination for Georgia on my Mind, and was chosen to sing the song to Ray Charles when Charles was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame.
A diverse and prolific songwriter, Michael’s songs have been recorded and performed by over 100 artists, ranging from country western legend Conway Twitty to hip hop superstar Kanye West, who along with Jay-Z and John Legend have sampled his music! Other greats who have performed Bolton’s tunes include Mark Anthony, Wynonna Judd, Joe Cocker, Peabo Bryson, Kenny Rogers, and Patti Labelle. Michael has penned #1 hit singles impacting the careers of artists such as Laura Branigan (How Am I Supposed to Live Without You ), KISS (Forever ), Barbra Streisand (We’re Not Making Love Anymore ), Cher (I Found Someone ), and Kenny G (By the Time this Night is Over’). Bolton has collaborated with some of the greatest songwriters of our time, Diane Warren, Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, John Mutt Lange, Lady Gaga and Ne-Yo, among others. He is one of the very few artists who have co-written with the legendary Bob Dylan, resulting in the mega hit, Steel Bars .
To date, Michael has seen 8 studio albums rank in the Top Ten, with 9 #1 singles. Bolton’s true signature success was seized with the 6x platinum album Soul Provider , selling more than 12 million copies world-wide, and showcasing several chart-toppers including the #1 hit single How Am I Supposed to Live Without You, which earned Michael his first Grammy. This pivotal album also includes the hit singles When I’m Back on My Feet Again, How Can We Be Lovers, and Soul Provider.
Soon after, Bolton released the #1 album Time, Love & Tenderness , which has sold over 16 million copies world-wide, and features his Grammy Award-winning vocal performance of the #1 blockbuster hit When A Man Loves a Woman. This album also produced the hit singles: Love Is a Wonderful Thing, Time, Love and Tenderness and Missing You Now, as well as Steel Bars.
Bolton followed this up with a collection of soulful classics on ‘Timeless,’ delivering the hit singles To Love Some Somebody and Reach Out I’ll Be There. Timeless sold over 7 million copies worldwide!
From his next album The One Thing came Michael’s massive single Said I Loved You,But I Lied, which spent 12 weeks at #1 on the AC charts and earned him another Grammy-nomination.
Michael has always been attracted to a wide array of musical categories, from Sinatra favorites (‘Bolton Swings Sinatra’), to classical arias (‘My Secret Passion’), which achieved #1 on the classical charts for a record breaking 6 weeks.
For his dedication to social activism, Michael has been honored with several Humanitarian awards _ including the Martin Luther King Award granted by the Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.), the Lewis Hine Award from The National Child Labor Committee, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, and the Frances Preston Lifetime Achievement Award. Michael is especially proud of the initiatives carried out by his own foundation, the Michael Bolton Charities, which strives to end the scourge of violence against women and children in America.
