Bolton was born in 1954 Michael Bolotin to a Jewish family in New Haven, Connecticut. Bolton found his biggest success in his mid-thirties and early forties as a solo vocalist in the adult contemporary/easy listening genre. Unbeknownst to many, however, Bolton received his first record label contract at the age of 15 and got his first national exposure in the late seventies with a hard rock band called Blackjack, which also featured one-time Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick, in which he was known by his birth name. The band once toured with heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. He began recording as Michael Bolton in 1983, after gaining his first major hit as a songwriter, cowriting "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" for Laura Branigan, previously best-known for singing the disco-pop classic "Gloria". Narrowly missing the pop top 10, Branigan took the song to number one on the Adult Contemporary charts for three weeks. The two sought to work with each other again, and their next of several associations was when Bolton cowrote "I Found Someone" for Branigan in 1985. Her version was only a minor hit, but two years later, Cher resurrected the song, and with it her own singing career. Bolton cowrote several other songs for both singers. Ironically, one of the prolific songwriter's first major successes as a singer was with his interpretation of someone else's composition, the Otis Redding classic, "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay." Always interested in soul and Motown classics, that song's success encouraged him to tackle the standard "Georgia On My Mind," with which he had another hit. Most of Bolton's recordings are original material, however, and he has also written songs for such disparate artists as Barbra Streisand, KISS, Kenny Rogers, Kenny G, Peabo Bryson and Patti Labelle. Bolton's early songwriting collaborators included Doug James and Mark Mangold, and as his fame grew he began to cowrite with higher-profile writers such as BabyFace, Diane Warren, and Bob Dylan. As a singer, he has performed with Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Renee Fleming, Patti Labelle, Ray Charles, Percy Sledge, Wynonna Judd, and BB King. Bolton is the father of three daughters born in the mid-1970s. Their names are Isa, Holly and Taryn. In 1993, he established the Michael Bolton Foundation (now the Michael Bolton Charities, Inc.) to assist women and children at risk from the effects of poverty and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. The foundation has provided over $3.7 million in funding to local and national charities. Bolton also serves as the honorary chairman of Prevent Child Abuse America, the national chairman for This Close for Cancer Research, and a board member for the National Mentoring Partnership and the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. In March, 2003, Bolton joined with Lifetime Television, Verizon Wireless, and many others to lobby on behalf of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, urging legislation to provide more assistance for victims of domestic violence, such as affordable housing options. Bolton has received the Lewis Hine Award from the National Child Labor Committee, the Martin Luther King Award from the Congress of Racial Equality, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce also recognized Bolton with a star on the "Walk of Fame" for his musical and charitable contributions.