Michael Bolton in 1991, and Michael Bolton in 2022.Photo:Gary Gershoff/Getty, Amy Sussman/Getty
Gary Gershoff/Getty, Amy Sussman/Getty
Michael Boltonsent fans swooning in the ’80s and ’90s with his signature long locks — but decades on, the singer says his hair is now a source of humor.
Bolton, 70, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue that his iconic style provides “the gift of laughter” for his three daughters and six grandchildren, who “get a kick out of things.”
The two-time Grammy winner — who will release his new albumSpark of Lighton July 14 — jokes that he’s “just all regrets” when it comes to the fashion that helped make him famous (Bolton famously cut his long hair in 1998, and auctioned it off for charity).
“I cut my hair at the height of my success. I didn’t feel like long hair was what was driving the success I was having,” he recalls. “But it’s funny how in hindsight the look can be so heavily ingrained. I was in London doing promotion for a tour, and on the world news was, ‘Michael Bolton Cuts Hair.’ And I thought, ‘What? Did that really just happen or did you guys just create that?’ They said, ‘No, no, that’s the news.’ It was so funny and surreal.”
The “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” singer may have left his locks behind, but he’s kept the romantic ballads on which he built his career.
“We were basically observing our friends and family and seeing that they all really needed some light, that it was so dark and oppressive and basically we were all just carrying layers of fear to our every day,” he says. “And so we started to feel a sense of responsibility to deliver hope and promise and all these feelings that seem to be so elusive, and it started to become a feel-good record.”
These days, Bolton finds hope and promise in his daughters Isa, Holly and Taryn (whom he shares with ex-wife Maureen) and their six children, as well as his girlfriend, Heather Kerzner, whom he started dating last summer.
“I’m filled with more love and pride in my girls as they raise their own families,” he says. “The people I love bring me a lot of happiness… The important things never really change. Love is the most important thing, the center of the universe. There’s nothing greater.”
The Connecticut-based Bolton, who’s lived in Westport for more than 30 years, has also found happiness in a newfound ability to embrace his playful side, something he learned from comedy trio The Lonely Island.
Michael Bolton with his grandchildren Olivia, Jack, River, Grayson, Amelia and Dylan in Westport, Conn. in July 2023.Tayrn Bolotin
Tayrn Bolotin
In 2011, he joined the group for theSaturday Night Liveparody song “Jack Sparrow,” which became a viral hit. They teamed up once again in 2017 forMichael Bolton’s Big, Sexy Valentine’s Day Specialon Netflix, and he’s also made cameos on prime-time comedies likeTwo and a Half MenandFresh Off the Boat.
“I probably took myself too seriously,” he says of his early days. “But [the Lonely Island] taught me that people love when you’re irreverent and when you can have fun at your own cost, as long as the execution of the work is good. For me that was life-altering, as it opened all the doors to people who didn’t know that I could have fun doing stuff like that. The fun starts happening when you let go of things… I don’t feel like I’m near slowing down yet.”
For more on Michael Bolton, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.
source: people.com
