The one lesson MICHAEL BOLTON has learned from life

Comments Off on The one lesson MICHAEL BOLTON has learned from life

Take nothing for granted: The one lesson MICHAEL BOLTON has learned from life

  • Michael is divorced, has three daughters and lives in Connecticut in the U.S
  • READ MORE: The one lesson LAILA ROUASS has learned from life

Grammy-winning pop icon Michael Bolton, 70, has sold more than 65 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists in history. Michael is divorced, has three adult daughters and six grandchildren and lives in Connecticut in the U.S

Take nothing for granted

It took me 18 years to make it in the music business. It was my passion for music and writing songs that drove me to survive failed attempts at a career.

When I was 16, Epic Records in New York offered me a deal to record a couple of singles. It was very exciting and surreal: my mother had to co-sign the contract because I was so young.

Grammy-winning pop icon Michael Bolton, 70, has sold more than 65 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists in history

I probably took it for granted that I was well on my way to success. But the next thing I knew, a year had passed, both singles had been recorded with no hit and I was dropped from the label.Then I got a two-album deal with RCA — again, they were unsuccessful and I was dropped. I was getting desperate and my rent cheques were bouncing.

I’d met other artists in the same boat and none of them made it, but I had to keep reminding myself I had been signed twice already and take it as a positive that people thought I’d got something.

It was my songwriting career that took off first, when it seemed like everything I wrote got recorded by great artists such as Cher, Barbra Streisand and Laura Branigan, who had a hit in 1983 with How Am I Supposed To Live Without You. Then, in 1990, I recorded it and it was No 1 for six weeks.

Michael is divorced, has three adult daughters and six grandchildren and lives in Connecticut in the U.S

I didn’t allow myself fully to feel the thrill of that, and I certainly didn’t take it for granted. I had been so dramatically affected by the excitement of prior record deals falling through and couldn’t bear it happening again. I was bracing myself. Eventually, I did take it in. Winning my first Grammy in 1990 was an out-of-body experience.

I don’t like the travel part of the touring, but when I catch myself whining I realise I mustn’t take the fact that fans come to my concerts for granted. It’s important to appreciate the moment and what you have.

I still have a passion for writing and recording music and for touring. My new album, Spark Of Light, is about being a ray of positivity in a world that seems heavy and complicated. 

  • Spark Of Light is available now.

Source: Read Full Article