Michael Bolton on Facing Brain Cancer 'I Want to Keep Going'

THE MUSIC ICON REVEALS HIS DEVASTATING GLIOBLASTOMA DIAGNOSIS—AND HOW HE FINDS STRENGTH IN HIS DEDICATED FAMILY

- By RACHEL DESANTIS

Michael Bolton’s voice has seen him through the best and worst times of his life. That soulful baritone helped him sell more than 65 million records and earned him two Grammys throughout his 50-year career—and after he awoke from emergency brain surgery on Dec. 4, 2023, it served as a beacon of hope amid uncertainty. “He was in recovery in the hospital room singing within minutes,” his daughter Holly, 47, recalls of Bolton belting “Proud Mary.” “His voice was so powerful. I was like, ‘We need to close the door!’”

That moment was one of relief for Holly and her sisters, Isa, 49, and Taryn, 45. Over the past year and a half Bolton’s daughters have leaned into moments of joy and levity as their dad, 72, tackles his greatest challenge yet: glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. Settled on a couch in the living room of his Westport, Conn., home, Bolton—whose short-term memory, speech and mobility have been impacted by his treatments—is resolute as he reflects on the months following his diagnosis, which came after his first of two surgeries. “You're reaching into your resources and your resolve in a way that you never would have thought,” he says of the arduous ordeal. “Succumbing to the challenge is not an option. You’re really quickly drawn into a duel. I guess that’s the way you're made of.”