Michael Bolton came out of brain surgery in 2023 with music on his mind.
Though he had just undergone an operation to remove a tumor that would later be diagnosed as glioblastoma, Bolton was still ready to rock — specifically, to the 1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival hit “Proud Mary.”
“He was in recovery in the hospital room singing within minutes,” his daughter Holly tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “His voice was so powerful. I was like, ‘We need to close the door!’”
For Holly, 47, and her sisters Taryn, 45, and Isa, 49, the moment was a reassuring one amid the fear and uncertainty of Bolton’s shocking illness.
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Michael Bolton’s PEOPLE cover
“He was so in that mode and he was singing like he did the day before surgery,” says Holly. “That, for me, was like, ‘Oh, Dad is here.’ He just had surgery, but he was him. And his voice sounded amazing!” Adds Taryn, “He wanted to work right away.”
Those soulful vocals have helped Bolton, 72, win two Grammy Awards and sell more than 65 million records, including chart-toppers “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” and “When a Man Loves a Woman.” And in this week’s cover story, he speaks to PEOPLE for the first time since his diagnosis about the ways in which music — as well as his family — has helped him in his fight against glioblastoma, the rare and aggressive form of brain cancer with which he was diagnosed in December 2023.
“Music is the gift that keeps on giving,” says Bolton, who last released an album of original material in July 2023. “It feeds me.”
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Michael Bolton and his family photographed at home in Westport, CT on April 9, 2025.
Though chemotherapy and radiation treatments (which he finished in October) have impacted his short-term memory, speech and mobility, the singer is rarely caught without a yellow legal pad in hand to jot down notes, lyrics and song titles as they come to him. He also still takes voice lessons, even 50 years into a successful career.
“I still watch him singing songs and writing music. That’s the stuff that [has helped] me get through this last year — really, truly feeling like he has had an exceptional life,” says Holly.
Related: Michael Bolton Shares Rare Photo with Kids, Grandkids from 72nd Birthday Celebration After Brain Tumor Diagnosis (Exclusive)
Courtesy Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton (back row left, sans uniform) with his baseball team as a pre-teen in New Haven, Conn. ca. 1965.
Bolton is no stranger to defying the odds. For years he toiled in obscurity as a singer-songwriter, struggling to provide for his daughters with ex-wife Maureen McGuire. He finally broke through with his 1987 album The Hunger, and before long he had become a bona fide sex symbol thanks to his sensual ballads and long, flowing locks. Bolton calls his relationship with his devoted fans a “precious” one and thanks them for being “so thoughtful” amid his illness.
“They’re a gift,” he says.
Though he’s long been private about his personal life, Bolton is sharing his experience in the hopes that someone on a similar journey, fighting a shared enemy, will find comfort in his words.
“Whenever you find yourself in any kind of challenging position, just to know that you’re not alone going through it is a big deal,” he says. “It actually helps people to know. It reminds them that they’re not alone.”
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