Howard Jones "You Know I Love You...Don't You?"

Perhaps Michael Bolton's "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" was in answer to Howard Jones' "You Know I Love You...Don't You?"...

Michael Bolton "Only A Woman Like You"

In my new role as Morning Show Producer, I had to meet guests of the morning show in the lobby of the Prudential Plaza (where the radio station was located). One of the first celebrities to visit the morning show under my watch was Michael Bolton. Busy promoting his newest album Only A Woman Like You, Bolton visited crosstown Adult Contemporary rival WLIT-FM as well as my station, Windy 100 (WNND-FM). Women started to buzz as a leather-pants wearing Bolton made his way up the stairs with his entourage. I immediately ran up to him and introduced myself. Bolton was cordial and made small-talk about his hotel having a basketball court. He asked if I played basketball. Instead of telling him I avereaged 0.0 point per game as the starting forward of the St. Joseph Warriors when I was in 5th grade, I simply said that indeed I was a basketball player. Bolton said I was welcome to come shoot hoops at his hotel that day if I was interested. I declined. 

Enrique Iglesias "Bailamos"

Say the name Michael Bolton and people always bring up his long hair (which he cut short in 1994). Whenever Enrique Iglesias' name gets mentioned, someone will bring up his emblematic mole. When the spicy Latin singer first popped up in the late-1990s, the mole was his trademark. America's love affair with his mole ended shortly thereafter. Enrique's fear of the mole becoming cancerous led him to have it removed in 2003 and the internet went nuts.

Michael Bolton "Go the Distance"

What do Michael Bolton and Ricky Martin have in common? Well, aside from being loved by ladies of the '90s, the two shared the ballad "Go the Distance" for the Disney-animated movie Hercules. Bolton performed the English version of the song that played over the movie's final credits while Martin performed a Spanish version of "Go the Distance". The song marks the last time Bolton turned up on the Top 40 Chart.

Michael Bolton f/ Kenny G "Missing You Now"

"My first day at work? I remember mailing photos of Michael Bolton sitting in a bathrub to all of my friends." That's how my friend Lisa described her first day as a Promotions Assistant at a radio station in the early-2000s. Promotions Assistants (PA's) are the most under-appreciated people working in radio. These folks are the faces that listeners and the general public interact with the most. They're working outside your local grocery store handing out food samples and giving away DVD copies of the latest Disney movie. They accompany DJs to station events, sometimes manage station's social media channels and set up elaborate sound systems and station booths at local 5K races. Not only that, they usually field phone calls from angry people wanting to know why they still haven't received a prize they won 45 minutes ago. Despite these demands, it's an entry-level job typically staffed by college interns or recent grads. In my friend Lisa's case, she explained that her boss assigned her a desk and told her she didn't have anything for her to do on her first day at work, so she decided to clean up her desk and work space. Inside her desk drawers were several autographed photos of Adult Contemporary singer Michael Bolton. With little else to do, Lisa mailed these photos to all her friends and called it a day. (Side note: watching Teri Hatcher look longingly as Michael Bolton went off to work in the video for "Missing You Now" is worth the four minutes. A sad Hatcher sitting next to a jar of licorice is also worth the watch.)

Michael Bolton "Best of Love"

Michael Bolton got some help from Babyface in "Best of Love"--a sexy ballad from his All That Matters album.

Jim Brickman & Anne Cochran "After All These Years"

"After All These Years" featured the vocals of Anne Cochran with Jim Brickman playing piano. The song not only was a Top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary Chart, but it helped to launch Cochran's career as one-half of a duet. She went on to sing with Donny Osmond, Dave Koz, and Michael Bolton (among others).

Michael Bolton "Ain't Got Nothing if You Ain't Got Love"

History shows the year 1994 as the turning point in Michael Bolton's career. Actually, the year started off quite well for Bolton as "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" topped the Adult Contemporary Chart for 14 straight weeks. It was all downhill from there for Bolton. During the summer of '94, he lost a plagiarism lawsuit to The Isley Brothers for his 1991 hit "Love Is A Wonderful Thing". A jury sided with The Isley Brothers citing that Bolton's song was too similar to the group's 1964 tune of the same name. Bolton paid an estimated $5 million in restitution (a record amount for copyright infringement). While this dragged on, sales of his album The One Thing chugged along, but still lagged well behind the success of his previous albums. Other than "Said I Loved You...But I Lied", the album's next two singles--the ballad "Completely" and the uptempo "Ain't Got Nothing if You Ain't Got Love"--failed to become major hits for Bolton. From that point on, Bolton's successes hinged on soundtrack songs: "Once in a Lifetime" (also in 1994) and "Go the Distance" (in 1997).

Michael Bolton "Once in a Lifetime"

The 1994 chick flick rom-com Only You featured the ballad "Once in a Lifetime" from Michael Bolton. The song found room on Adult Contemporary radio stations with the names like "The Lite", "Warm" and "Sunny".

Michael Bolton "Can I Touch You...There?"

"It's like a porno soundtrack with words."

-a random grandmother's review of Michael Bolton's "Can I Touch You...There?"

Voices That Care "Voices That Care"

The 1991 Persian Gulf conflict spurred a documentary and song from dozens of musicians, athletes, and comedians all in support of those fighting in Operation Desert Storm.  The song, "Voices That Care", featured everyone from Michael Bolton to Michael Jordan, Garth Brooks to Ted Danson, and Kenny G to Sissy Spacek.  And, yes, even Peter Cetera!

Michael Bolton - "Love Is A Wonderful Thing"

"Love Is A Wonderful Thing" got Michael Bolton in some trouble.  The Isley Brothers claim Bolton lifted the tune from their 1964 song of the same title.  Bolton argued the song was his and not plagiarized.  The case went to a jury who determined Bolton plagiarized the song and compensated the Isley Brothers $4.2 million.  You can listen to the two songs and decide for yourself.

Electric Light Orchestra - "Can't Get It Out of My Head"

During the 1990s, guys used to make mixtapes for girls -- this practice usually was a result of guys having a crush on the recipient of the mixtape.  In my case, a somewhat annoying girl (who reminded me of Jan Brady) in one of my classes knew that I owned a huge CD collection and asked if I could make her a mixtape.  I told her I'd be happy to...provided she picked out her own songs and bought her own cassette tape.  Looking back, I admit that wasn't very nice of me, but I didn't want the girl to think that I liked her (because I didn't...and because I was 17 years old and acted like a stereotypical 17-year-old).  Her mixtape contained the usual mix of popular songs from 1994 (Bryan Adams, The Cranberries, Michael Bolton), but I remember she chose the song "Can't Get It Out of My Head" by Electric Light Orchestra.  I had never heard of the song and this girl was a couple years younger than me yet she somehow knew a song released in 1974.  Much like the song title implies, this memory is firmly etched in my brain.

Cher - "I Found Someone"

Michael Bolton co-wrote "I Found Someone" for Laura Branigan, but it was Cher would turned it into a huge radio hit in another case of "I Did What Laura Branigan Didn't".  In 1986, Branigan took "I Found Someone" to #90 on the Hot 100 -- a year later, Cher put her spin on the song and turned it into a Top 10 song.  Perhaps Cher's success was fueled by the music video that featured her wearing what amounted to a fishnet body stocking?

Michael Bolton - "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?"

After years of being a songwriter, Michael Bolton's big break came when he decided to sing a song he had co-written.  In 1983, Bolton and Doug James wrote "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" for Air Supply, but it was Laura Branigan who turned it into a hit.  Bolton recorded his own solo version of the song in 1989, and it launched his career.  The song won Bolton a Grammy and signaled the beginning of a decade of ruling the Adult Contemporary format with his signature pop rock ballads and trademark long hair.

Michael Bolton - "To Love Somebody"

Not only did Michael Bublé remake this classic Bee Gee's ballad, but Michael Bolton also covered the song and took it to #1 in late-1992.  As part of Timeless: The Classics, Bolton covered several songs including "Yesterday", "White Christmas", and "Reach Out, I'll Be There".

Michael Bolton - "How Can We Be Lovers?"

"We must be fools.  We must be crazy.  Whoa woah.  Now there's no communication.  Whoa woah.  It's a no-win situation.  How can we be lovers if we can't be friends?"

UPDATE: This kid can play a mad keyboard...and he plays plenty of songs featured on this blog.

Michael Bolton - "Soul Provider"

TRUE or FALSE
1. "Soul Provider" by Michael Bolton sounds like it came right out of 1989.

2. Michael Bolton once asked me to shoot baskets with him.

ANSWERS:
1. True.  "Soul Provider" encapsulated the sound of Adult Contemporary radio from 1988-89.  You can almost picture yourself walking through a K-Mart while the song blasts through the loudspeaker.

2. True.  Bolton was a guest on a morning show I produced in 2002.  What I remember from that morning is that Michael was wearing leather pants and talked about how his hotel had a basketball court.  He added that I should check it out which I translated to "Michael Bolton definitely asked me to shoot some hoops."

Michael Bolton - "Steel Bars"

Wikipedia claims that Michael Bolton only released "Steel Bars" in the UK, yet I remember my mom blasting it on 100.3 WPNT while cleaning the house on Saturday mornings.  

Michael Bolton - "Said I Loved You...But I Lied"

Michael Bolton was once the face of Adult Contemporary music.  His 1993 hit "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" pretty much sums up his repertoire: breathy vocals and lyrics that seemed to come from a trashy romance novel.  No lady could resist Michael Bolton (not even Nicollette Sheridan).  This single also represented the last of Michael's trademarked long hair.