VAN WERT — Known for his 1980s raspy, soulful, love ballads, “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” and “Time, Love and Tenderness,” Michael Bolton’s distinctive, powerful vocals and his mastery to take a song across genres catapulted him to the top of the charts as an R&B/pop-rock crossover.
Bolton’s unique sound is the result of growing up listening to a variety of artists and musical genres.
“I have been inspired by a wide variety of singers and songwriters throughout my life,” Bolton said in an interview via email. “As a kid, I was listening to everything from The Beatles and Stevie Wonder to the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Whatever I could hear on the radio or the Ed Sullivan TV show, or that my brother had on vinyl.
“I’d sing along and learn the melodies and phrasing and how to tell a story musically with my voice. Probably my biggest influence as an artist was Ray Charles, and I was honored to be able to sing with him, among many of my musical heroes, as I came into my own. I have been inspired by the standards and opera as well as R&B and blues rock. I perform and play it all during my shows.”
The Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Bolton will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Van Wert. Some tickets are still available via VanWertLive.com, with tickets ranging from $59 to $85.
The pandemic led him to return to his roots as a songwriter.
“For my forthcoming album, as you can hear in my first single ‘Beautiful World,’ I was very inspired to write again,” Bolton said. “After all, songwriting is really how I started my career, and other artists were covering my songs ranging from Streisand and Cher to Kiss and Kenny Rogers.
“During the pandemic, when tours were canceled and I found myself in one place for a while, I started focusing on songwriting and collaborating with a wide range of contemporary songwriters, producers and artists. We were looking to bridge what is current with what can be timeless. I’m excited to share this new body of music soon and hope it resonates with a very wide audience.”
In March, Bolton performed “Beautiful World” live on NBC’s “American Song Contest,” with the inspiring refrain, “We gotta love like we’ve never been hurt. Rise like we’ve never been burned. After all of the lessons we’ve learned, we’re gonna make it. Make this a beautiful world.”
“I wrote ‘Beautiful World’ with Justin Jesso during the pandemic, and it’s inspired by the desire to create more unity and compassion in the world, to be hopeful for the future and build towards that hope,” Bolton said. “For me, the message of a song is primary, and finding a memorable melody to carry that forward. The production is then what you dress up the lyric and melody with, and that can go in a variety of directions. I’m always looking to create a universally relatable lyric and a melody you can’t get out of your head. How the production comes to life varies from song to song and producer to producer. My forthcoming album highlights a wide range of musical collaborations.”
Over the past few years, Bolton gave his fans a few surprises, including cutting his iconic locks.
“It was just time to cut my hair. The long hair was something I started as a teenager, and it just stayed with me for all those years. The shift to short hair was more spontaneous than deliberate. But I was happy that we were able to auction it off for charity!” Bolton explained.
He also appeared in comedic roles like the Saturday Night Live and YouTube song “Jack Sparrow.” The video went viral. From it, Bolton gained a new generation of fans and garnered new opportunities in film and on the internet.
“I’m always entertaining opportunities that allow me to show my funny side, since people had me pegged as serious for a long time, not knowing I was always the class clown,” he said. “I reunited with The Lonely Island Guys, and Comedy Bang Bang, to create Michael Bolton’s Big Sexy Valentine’s Day for Netflix, and we are now doing Michael Bolton’s Big Sexy Podcast for Will Ferrell’s podcast network on iHeart. There’s always a new comedic project on the horizon as I continue songwriting, recording and touring.”
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