Michael Bolton--Soul Provider (1989)

     For several years in the middle and late 70's, Michael Bolotin (his real name), spent much of his time singing hard rock as a solo artist and as frontman of the group, Blackjack who at one time toured with Ozzy Osbourne.
      The early and mid-80's saw a name change, and more of a focus on songwriting with his first hit being, "How am I Supposed to Live Without You" for Laura Branigan in 1983. Much of the decade was spent writing for artists as diverse as Cher, Kenny G, Night Ranger and KISS. Finally in the late 80's, he attempted to resurrect his solo career and after a respectable showing with the 1987 album, "The Hunger", Bolton hit a home run with the album, "Soul Provider". The single itself reached the top 20, but it was his remake of the song he had written for Branigan that hit #1 and sent his solo career into orbit.