The $5.4 Million Ego Trip That Killed Michael Bolton’s Career
Before he became the king of soft rock ballads, Michael Bolton was Michael Bolotin, an aspiring hard rocker from Connecticut. He chased fame for years, fronting the band Blackjack with future KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick and releasing solo albums that went nowhere.
By the early 1980s, Bolton’s rock dreams had fizzled, forcing him to pivot to songwriting for others. His big break came when Laura Branigan recorded “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You,” co-written by Bolton, launching him as a hitmaker.
Bolton reinvented himself, dropping the “Bolotin” and embracing a soulful, adult contemporary style. His 1987 album “The Hunger” marked his transition, and by 1989’s “Soul Provider,” he was a superstar. His own version of “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” topped charts, and he followed with the blockbuster album “Time, Love & Tenderness.” The hit single “Love Is a Wonderful Thing” won him a Grammy and cemented his reign over 90s power ballads.
But that song would trigger the downfall of his career. The Isley Brothers noticed Bolton’s “Love Is a Wonderful Thing” sounded eerily similar to their 1966 track of the same name.
Rather than quietly settle, Bolton’s team denied any similarity and refused to offer credit or compensation. In 1992, the Isleys sued Bolton, his co-writer Andrew Goldmark, and Sony Music for copyright infringement.
The court battle was intense. Bolton insisted under oath he’d never heard the Isleys’ song, despite being a lifelong soul fan. The Isleys’ legal team argued for “subconscious plagiarism”—that Bolton had absorbed the song through exposure and later recreated it. Musicologists pointed out five near-identical elements: the title, hook, melody, rhythm, and central lyric. Bolton’s defense claimed these were common genre elements, but the jury didn’t buy it.
After two days of deliberation, the verdict was devastating: Bolton and Goldmark were found guilty, and the Isleys were awarded $5.4 million—one of the largest plagiarism judgments in music history. The sum included 66% of Bolton’s single profits and 28% of his entire album’s earnings. Bolton was stunned and immediately appealed, dragging the case through courts for years. His legal team even argued the Isleys’ song wasn’t original enough for copyright protection, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed this, and the Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
With interest, the judgment ballooned to over $7 million. Sony paid most of it, then sued Bolton to recoup their losses. Bolton had to sell his Connecticut mansion to cover debts. His refusal to settle quietly had cost him dearly.
The fallout was immediate. Bolton’s reputation was destroyed; he became a public punchline, mocked as a cheesy ballad singer and now a plagiarist. The 1999 cult film “Office Space” immortalized this mockery, and his album sales tanked. For years, Bolton faded into obscurity, releasing cover albums and holiday records.
But in 2011, Bolton staged a bizarre comeback. He teamed up with comedy group The Lonely Island for the viral SNL hit “Jack Sparrow,” embracing his reputation as a joke. With self-deprecating humor and appearances on shows like John Oliver, Bolton reinvented himself as a comedy icon. He was no longer the arrogant plagiarist, but the funny guy with the big voice who could laugh at himself.
Bolton’s story is a lesson in ego and humility. The plagiarism lawsuit ended his imperial phase and forced him to find a new way to stay relevant. His comeback as a comedy figure was brilliant, but it was born from disaster—a $5.4 million mistake that changed everything.
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