The Soul of It All

My Music, My Life

De: Michael Bolton

Narrado por: Michael Bolton

After four decades in the music industry, Michael Bolton has become one the most successful musicians of our time. The Soul of it All is his backstage pass into his life lived thus far-into the venues, busses, limos, and hotel rooms of stardom, and finally into his home and heart. His story will go long and dive deep, not only into his self-proclaimed "vagabond vampire" life, but also into the belly of the beast that is the music industry, with its joys, follies, and torments.

From a 14 year old kid performing in dive bars in his hometown of New Haven, CT, to struggling to provide for his wife and kids, to finally breaking through with the Soul Provider album, and going on to sell more than 53 million albums and singles worldwide, Bolton has fought for and earned a life most just dream of.

The Soul of it All is his life, chock-full of all the incredible stories, and the star-studded cast you'd expect, including: Luciano Pavarotti, Paula Abdul, Cher, Bob Dylan, Barbara Streisand, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Bon Jovi, Wynonna Judd, BB King, Patti LaBelle, Carlos Santana, Nicolette Sheridan, Teri Hatcher and others...

©2012 Michael Bolton (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"We all know that my friend Michael Bolton is a gifted musician and a devoted philanthropist - but you may not know that he's also a talented storyteller. The Soul of It All is the fascinating journey of a man who is as powerful, bold, and soulful as his voice." (Bill Clinton)

wonderful I want to have more this is a truly good

a wonderful read I want to hear more I can read this one over and over

awesome

it was wonderful to hear Mr Bolton tell his story himself it was so inspiring
thank you

New Haven kid does good

I confess, I've never considered myself a Michael Bolton fan. I found the whole "Fabio" look he sported for so many years a turn off, although I thought he sang well. What triggered my listening to his autobiography was that the Kindle version was on promotion and it prompted me to listen to a sample of the audio version.

That said, I found "The Soul of It All" to be a very interesting listen. Mr. Bolton grew up in an upwardly mobile middle class home in New Haven, CT and left home as a teenager to seek out opportunities in the world of music. Since neither he nor his musician friends were affluent, this meant living in their van or other "creative" living situations to scrape by between gigs. He describes the financial struggles he experienced after marrying, trying to support his family on a musician's salary and how he finally turned to penning & singing commercial jingles to pay the rent. After his solo career began to take off, he stopped singing jingles fearing he'd dilute his brand as a performer. As he became more and more successful, he met and befriend famous folks like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Alice Cooper, and numerous other celebrities. While some reviewers felt he was "name dropping," I thought his reaction was that of awe... meeting people beyond his wildest dreams, a variation on "New Haven kid does good."

The aspect of his autobiography that I found most surprising was his philanthropy. He founded a charitable organization serving women and children at risk for poverty and abuse (the Michael Bolton Charities) as a channel to give back to his home state of Connecticut and nationally. The last quote I expected to hear in his biography? Gandhi's "Poverty is the worst form of violence." Bolton is strongly committed to alleviating homelessness and hunger, and considers poverty a form of domestic terror.

I started listening to this autography based on hearing Bolton describe (in the audiobook sample) his delight in performing as Captain Jack Sparrow in a Saturday Night Live parody video. I continued to listen to the end inspired by Bolton's work ethic and (as he puts it) "kindness, compassion, and awe." Along with this being a very interesting book, Bolton's narration makes it even better. I'm glad I took the time to hear Michael Bolton tell the story of his life.

LOVED THIS BOOK!!!

Oh my goodness I don’t even know where to start on this book review. I went into it, thinking that Michael Bolton was going to be a blow hard😉. I was so wrong, did I mention that I was so wrong?! Oh my goodness I loved this book I was probably Michael Bolton‘s biggest fan back in the 80s. I remember the very first time that I ever saw him I think it was on the good morning America show with Bryant Gumbel? I mean I think that’s who were the host was😉. He sang Sitting On the Dock of the Bay. He had me at hello😂😂😂 my first thought was oh my goodness if he cut his hair, he would be a god😉😂 I never was a fan of long hair, but I fell hopelessly head over heels for his voice, and he had such a strong face.
This book was probably my favorite autobiography. Dolly Parton’s autobiography was probably a pretty close second❤️.
Thank you Michael for being such an amazing person as well as a performer.
Your songs got me through some really tough times. I mean some really tough times. THANK YOU!!!

Passion with compassion

Any additional comments?

Deep. Passionate. Real and sensitive to himself and others. Thank you for You Michael.

Great insight to Michael Bolton

amazingly written and very well-read; nice flow and soft yet powerful voice. He overcame the odds! worth the read/listen for anyone, not just fans.

truly soulful

he truly conveys is Lifetime passion for music. I hope he can continue singing through his 80s!

Listened to all of it at once!

What made the experience of listening to The Soul of It All the most enjoyable?

Michael's voice was easy to listen to, and his story was interesting. Glad that he hasn't forgotten where he started from and who helped him along the way. It amazed me some of the things that he went through and is happy his life is going better.

Fantastic!!

I loved listening to Michael share his story!! His jokes and impersonations made it even more special!!

Lists of Names

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

No one I know - my friends & family are not Bolton's fans.

Has The Soul of It All turned you off from other books in this genre?

No...I would like to see Barry Manilow's biography on audible.

What didn’t you like about Michael Bolton’s performance?

The way he used lists of names of people who helped him or worked with him made it seem like he was tired of reading - frankly I was tired of listening to the lists of names & his detailed explanation of so many things he has done in the music industry.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Soul of It All?

I would tell Bolton to cut back on the number of times he brought up people's names (I don't know everyone in the recording world, so it was meaningless to me) - I can't decide if he was bragging or just trying to thank people.

Any additional comments?

The best part of the book for me was that I bought it on audio - at least I was able to listen to his voice without having to concentrate on his written words.