Soul provider: Musical path leads Michael Bolton to follow his bliss

Superstar Michael Bolton will be performing to a sold-out crowd Saturday in the Riverside Casino Event Center.

Now 63, he burst onto the scene with a gold album in 1983, and hit the top of the charts in 1989 with his Grammy-winning single, 'How Am I Supposed to Live Without You.” He now has more than 22 solo albums and another dozen compilations to his credit.

He's crisscrossing the United States on tour at least through March. The Gazette caught up with him for an email interview, discussing everything from his musical beginnings to his social activism.

Q: Your musical reach is eclectic and vast, from your hard rock beginnings to soul, swing, pop, classical and adult contemporary hits.

What has this diversity allowed you to accomplish as a singer/songwriter?

A: Musically, singing with Ray Charles, Luciano Pavarotti, playing guitar with BB King - all mind blowing.

I'm definitely proud of my accomplishments in the industry, from two Grammys for best male vocal performance and six (American Music Awards), to songwriter awards, and the range of songwriters I've written with and for - from Bob Dylan to Lady Gaga, to KISS, Streisand and Cher, to Marc Anthony, Kenny G and Patti LaBelle. Even Kanye West and Jay Z sampled two of my songs.

I believe all of this diversity has allowed me to reach a wide audience and to keep creating as music evolves.

Q: I had no idea you have an affinity for opera, holding your own beautifully with the biggest names in the business. How did that musical journey begin?

A: I received a call from the great tenor Luciano Pavarotti to ask me to participate in his legendary 'Pavarotti & Friends” show. He wanted to sing with me, and I suggested two songs.

I then spent months training my voice, learning the lyrics, stretching my melodies, and even still when I walked onto that stage, I was trembling. He said, 'I see you have been studying the tenor.” I responded, 'I have been studying you.” It was one of the most magical experiences of my life.

In a way, the album of arias, 'My Secret Passion,” that was inspired by that connection, really revealed to me that I could do anything I set my mind to. That album was at No. 1 for six weeks.

I continue to sing 'Nessun Dorma” at every one of my concerts around the world, and I dedicate it to the greatest tenor who has ever lived.

Q: What else will we hear in your Riverside concert?

A: There will definitely be some holiday favorites mixed into the set, but I'm always conscious that my life long fans are coming to hear the greatest hits.

I often get messages and letters about certain songs that marked important moments in their lives, and so they are coming to celebrate those experiences.

I also like to introduce my audience to new musical genres and guests. Every time I record a new album, we incorporate a few of those songs into the set, so the repertoire is always evolving.

I like to make the concert into a real musical journey and tell stories along the way. The audience likes to chime in and we always have a lot of fun together.

Q: Did you grow up in a musical household?

A: I was drawn to music as early as I can remember.

My mother was a big music appreciator and used to play the piano. My brother was always turning me onto new bands and the latest rock or rhythm-and-blues musicians. As a family we would gather around the TV and watch musical performers on 'The Ed Sullivan Show,” and I remember being able to sing along with just about any melody on the radio.

As a kid, a lot of what I was hearing on the radio was Motown, coming out of Detroit. Singers like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, those were some of my earlier influences. And of course the songwriters and producers behind the Motown machine - like Holland Dozier Holland, Ashford and Simpson - they were churning out hits that would get recorded and played the world over.

I was writing lyrics at a young age just to have a vehicle for expressing myself. But I didn't know songwriting was a career until much later.

All of my teenage years were more focused on singing and I was signed as a recording artist at age 15. I would basically just sing to anything I heard on TV or the radio, or on a new album that my brother would bring home. It was just what I did and what people came to expect. And then we put together different bands and I would perform at birthdays or bar mitzvahs or anywhere that people would listen.

I was performing in bars before I was old enough to drink in them! I was busking from Greenwich Village to the Yale campus. Those times were all memorable because there was a real environment of music.

Q: When did you know music would be your career path?

A: There was never a plan B.

Q: You've collaborated with so many heavy-hitters. Who left you just a little bit star-struck, like you couldn't quite believe you were working with that person?

A: One collaboration that will always be a highlight for me in my career was working with Bob Dylan. It was surreal.

In fact, when I got the phone call that Bob Dylan wanted to write with me, I was positive it was a friend pulling a prank on me.

But sure enough, a few weeks later I was pulling into the driveway of his Malibu compound having a very out-of-body experience. We drank coffee and started playing with words and rhymes and strumming out a few chords on the guitar. That became 'Steel Bars.”

One of the most amazing gifts about finally achieving success is that you get to meet or work with the heroes who influenced you from the beginning. It's a very powerful experience.

Q: You've also dedicated your resources to social issues. What placed at-risk women's and children's causes on your heart?

A: Early on as a struggling artist trying to support a wife and three daughters, I was constantly facing the risk of homelessness. That was terrifying. But I had no backup plan.

I vowed that if and when I ever came into success, that I would find ways to bring support to women and children at risk.

It was in the process of exploring the shelters around my hometown in Connecticut that I discovered that domestic violence was a leading reason women and their children were driven to seek safety in the shelters.

Being the father of three daughters, it was just unthinkable to me that a man could ever raise his hand to a woman or child. It's just not how I was raised. So I became very personally involved in legislation around VAWA (the Violence Against Women Act).

I also realized from performing at various fundraisers that celebrity is a kind of currency, and so I started fundraising around my own foundation, the Michael Bolton Charities, which disperses funds to organizations around the country that are addressing this critical issue of women and children at risk.

We are now working on building a Family Justice Center in Connecticut, and continue to support our Music Therapy program at Safe Horizon.

The next mission will be to work to put an end to human trafficking.

l What: Michael Bolton: Greatest Hits and Holiday Favorites

l Where: Riverside Casino Event Center, 3184 Highway 22, Riverside

l When: 8 p.m. Saturday (12/10)

l Tickets: SOLD OUT

l Information: Riversidecasinoandresort.com

l Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com