(Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
Michael Bolton always knew he would write a book about his life, he just wasn’t sure if anyone would care.
But after a little SNL clip of Bolton dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow went viral, it seemed everyone was interested in getting to know the singer a little better.
Luckily, as Bolton told Radio.com, he’s had a successful career that has lent itself to many stories.
“It’s been a long climb up a mountain or a long walk out into the desert, whatever you like,” he joked.
Ever since Bolton started traveling with his computer, he’s been sure to jot down everything from lyric notes to interesting observations, but admits writing some of the more personal passages from his new memoir, The Soul Of It All, like his parent’s divorce and his breakup with longtime love Nicollette Sheridan, was difficult. But as Bolton notes that the book’s title leads a reader to believe his life was not all fun and games.
“The title is not The Fun Of It All,” Bolton joked. “So I realized while working at [the book] the first month or so, that the only way to speak was from the place of my original experience and what it was really like to go there.”
Though Bolton poked fun at those who claim writing a memoir can be cathartic (using a snooty accent, of course), he says he actually did find it to be a rewarding experience.
“Going back to these places…in some ways, gives you perspective,” he said. “Yes, some of it was painful to go back to and stirred up a lot of things I have purposely left closed like a folder that you don’t double-click on, but now you have to double-click to get at the real stuff. “
Bolton, who will turn 60 on February 26, hopes his story, with all its ups and downs, will inspire his fans to just keep going, even if it seems impossible.
“People ask me all the time, why I didn’t quit after eight years and four albums or ten years and five albums or 12 years,” he explained. “It was 18 years, nine albums, a bunch of songs that never came out and record companies that went out of business while we were recording…it’s been a long journey.”
So is Bolton’s life story a must-read? The singer thinks the readers will have to ultimately decide.
“It’s been a long journey and there’s definitely some interesting stories and high points worth sharing,” he said. “But I’m not being presumptuous to say, ‘My life is important to all of you.’ If you’re interested, there’s some definitely some noteworthy material in here.”
Bolton’s book, The Soul Of It All, is available now.
- Shannon Carlin, Radio.com
