THE SOUL OF MICHAEL BOLTON

Michael Bolton started singing at age 9 in his bedroom closet, writing songs and teaching himself chords on his guitar.  His dream was to be a famous rock star.  Back then his name was Michael Bolotin and he lived in New Haven, Connecticut.  He would go on to play guitar on street corners for spare change, leave high school, hitchhike across country at age 14, sing jingles to support his family as he struggled to pay the rent and finally achieve a level of success even greater than  he could have imagined.

A songwriter of over 200 songs and a sex symbol with his trademark flowing blond hair (which he has since cut and donated to sell for charity), he resembled a Norse god.  He freely admits his days as a youth were wild child days, as he emulated his older brother Orrin and gave his parents George and Helen a lot of grief, amidst the joy.

To learn firsthand about his slow and circuitous rise to fame, plan to attend the Perspective Speaker series at the Jewish Community Center, 360 Amity Road, Woodbridge on Tuesday, September 10 at 7:30 p.m.  Michael will be there in person to discuss his new book "The Soul of It All" (Hachette Book Group) with Colin McEnroe, host of The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio.

A success today in writing, recording, touring, performing and promoting, he confesses he is amazed he survived his undisciplined teen years, where experimenting with drugs was the norm and attending school was the exception.  His life changed when he discovered his passion and purpose: music, but it would take him years to realize how his dangerous lifestyle was impacting his dreams.

At 14, he was performing a B.B.King song at a New Haven bar and at 15 his mother was signing his first record deal with Epic Records (because he was too young to sign the contract himself), but it would be a long time, almost two decades, before the skinny teenager would grow into the polished and sophisticated performer and taste his first delicious bite of success.

For tickets ($25 for JCC members, $27 public), call the Jewish Commnity Center at 203-387-2522 or go online to www.jccnh.org.  All participants will receive an autographed copy of his book.

To Michael Bolton, "the singer is the messenger and the song is the message."  He describes himself as "a white rock and soul singer with a gritty voice."  Through all the dark and lean years, he never stopped believing in himself.  As his father had prophesized years earlier, "Son, you're gonna be big, big, BIG!"