If you are a Michael Bolton fan today, chances are you don't know that he wasn't the blue-eyed soul ballads crooner we know and love. Fact is, Mr. Bolton was making a very different kind of music during the late 70s and early 80s with a guitar oriented heavy metal band called Blackjack (above left). It was in the late 80s that he embarked on the extreme stylistic change of direction that made him a super star. Always a big fan of classic RnB, one of the first hits for him was a rendition of the Otis Redding classic "Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay", a rendition so impressive it drew compliments from none other than Otis's widow Velma Redding. Presented here for comparison's sake is first a performance of "Everybody's Crazy" by Bolton with Blackjack followed by Bolton performing a song that won him a Grammy Award in 1991, a cover of the great Percy Sledge's hit "When A Man Loves A Woman". Very often in this business versatility is a virtue, and change is good.
Great article John, I did not know that. One thing is that you have a typo in the first sentence. Other than that very interesting.
ReplyDeleteTypo fixed,Ryan and good catch, I appreciate you keeping me on my toes and that one totally got away from me.
ReplyDeleteOh it's no problem. I have done the same on my blog.
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