Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

The music of memories
He knows the passions and pains of your heart. His songs have the power to reach the depths of your soul. He is Michael Bolton and he was in Sri Lanka. Smriti Daniel caught up with him

When we die, and we lie still in our graves, perhaps there will be someone who will know what music made up the soundtracks of our lives. Perhaps they will play those songs, and those songs will become memories; songs that will always mean more than music and lyrics… simply because we were listening to this song on such and such a day, and now that song and that day are inseparable. If you don’t know what I mean, ask Michael Bolton, he’ll tell you all about it.

“I’ve had people write to me or email me, and tell me that they had my songs playing when they first fell in love, or got married… when they were struggling with financial issues or fighting cancer,” says Bolton, “You find out that your music has been like the soundtrack to their lives.” For someone who has been a successful musician for nearly three decades now, it all seems to boil down to this – making music that reaches deep and finds an echo inside every human heart. Where does it all come from? Bolton is an acknowledged master of the bitter-sweet love song, the kind that not only tugs at your heart strings, but has you sighing and caterwauling along. For him, it is as simple, and as complex as being able to take a “taste” of what someone else is feeling, and transform it into a four-minute track. As far as he’s concerned this is just something that art demands of every artiste.

Part of the joy of being a performer, Bolton reveals, is that wonderful bond he forms when he’s singing to his audience. According to him, it’s not what he’s feeling about his song that infuses it with passion; instead all that intensity is the result of the way his audience responds to his music. For instance, take the song, “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You”. “Right now I’m not in a relationship,” he says (rejoice all ye women of the world), going on to add that he doesn’t feel like there’s currently anyone he can’t live without. However, when he’s singing to his audience and feeling the surge of response, the song becomes very beautiful and very meaningful in a not so obvious way – it becomes the link between him and his fans.

And there are lots of them (fans, I mean) – they appear in hordes and number in the millions. They are drawn by his soaring tenor, sensitive lyrics and his stirring melodies, and they come in all ages, shapes and colors. Bolton reveals that while he and his band are used to their longtime fans, they are now discovering a whole new generation of fans who’ve been brought up on his music. “They even know all the lyrics,” he says, laughing, describing the young people who come to his shows for the sole purpose of loudly serenading him as he sings their favourite songs.

That’s quite a tribute, considering that he is far out of the age group of young sprigs like Blue and Britney. Is he ever threatened by all the young, energetic competition? The answer is a categorical “no”, made confident by an understanding of how the wheel turns in the music industry. “Each generation has the right to its own voice, artistically, aesthetically and intellectually,” he says, adding that at different points in time, different styles and genres rule. It helps that much of Bolton’s music is timeless in its appeal and extremely adaptable, the last of which is borne out by the likes of Kanye West, redoing a song that Bolton co-wrote (“Never Let Me Down”).

In fact, Bolton has written, sung with and produced for some of the biggest names in the business. “It’s an amazing feeling,” he says, describing the number and scope of his work represented by the records framed and hung on his walls. A prolific songwriter for many years now, Bolton has penned hits for more legendary artistes than one could count, including Barbra Streisand, KISS, Kenny Rogers, Kenny G, Cher, Peabo Bryson and Patti Labelle. He has also co-written songs with a host of gifted songwriters, including Bob Dylan, Baby Face and Diane Warren, and performed with Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Patti Labelle, Ray Charles, Percy Sledge, Wynonna Judd and BB King. It quickly becomes obvious that he has written, sung, performed and produced enough songs to leave a more ordinary mortal gasping.

Among his varied inspirations, influences and partners in music, there is one name that stands out – that of Ray Charles. It was the night he received his first Grammy that Bolton best expressed his feelings for that great musician: “Thank you Ray for ever opening your mouth,” he said, looking down at his idol seated in the audience before him. He remembers very clearly how it felt on that magical night to step up in front of some of the giants of the music industry, and be recognised as the best male vocalist of the year. “All of a sudden, everything goes into slow motion,” he says, adding that the first award was a “big deal” and meant a tremendous amount to him.

That was just the beginning. Bolton was to go on to win another Grammy for best male vocalist, and six American Music Awards among many other accolades, but he has never forgotten something he realised that night, “This was not what my career was about… all these awards are just fuel.” I must confess that I could feel my jaw drop at his words... a Grammy? Just fuel!!! But for Bolton, his music and his life is not about all the glitz and glamour, instead it is about reaching out to those in need. As an acknowledged celebrity, he sees it as his responsibility to “make an example” of his life; an undertaking which he has already made a good start on.

In 1993, he established the Michael Bolton Foundation, now known as Michael Bolton Charities, Inc (MBC). MBC provides assistance, education and shelter to children and women at risk from poverty, as well as physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Bolton also serves as the Honorary Chairman of Prevent Child Abuse America, National Chairman for This Close for Cancer Research and Board Member for the National Mentoring Partnership and the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

Most recently, Bolton joined forces with Lifetime Television, Verizon Wireless and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), the national leading advocacy group, dedicated to the empowerment of battered women and their children. Sharing the shelf with his Grammies are the awards he has received for his philanthropic work, among them the Lewis Hine Award by the National Child Labor Committee, the Martin Luther King Award by the Congress of Racial Equality and the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organisations. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce also recently recognised Bolton with a star on the legendary ‘Walk of Fame’ for his musical and charitable contributions.

Bolton has obviously led a very full life, made even more so, because it has been far from easy. Bolton says that to anyone who asks him what it was like to raise his three wonderful daughters, he says, “Go watch the exorcist and you’ll have a good idea.” Laughter aside, he knows how difficult life can be, when there’s no money to be had. Obviously the life of a penniless musician is most unromantic, when you have a family to feed.

Today, Bolton need not ever worry about where the next meal is going to come from. He makes for a very attractive 52-year-old, not least because he has a fantastic sense of humour. He still has those intense blue eyes and that sharp jaw line. However, his trademark blond mane is long gone. He laughs easily and says it is meeting the people in a country that makes his visits worthwhile. He freely admits to being both a junk food addict and a compulsive golfer (handicap ten). A perfectionist and a workaholic by nature, he is nevertheless someone who has a keen understanding and love for what it means to be human. It’s difficult to dismiss him as just another pop star, (especially as he and his band were once the opening act for Ozzy Osbourne); it gets even harder when you throw in the fact that the man can even cope with opera and hold his own with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo.

As an artiste, Bolton makes me wants to wave candles and sing along with him; he makes me want to shed a few tears; he reminds me to believe in myself, and helps me exult in being alive. For many others, Michael Bolton will always be a great artiste, not least because he has, in his own perfect inimitable style, put a tune to a hundred of their memories, but is also now singing it all back to them.

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