MICHAEL BOLTON

a little bit, not much, but I love it. I love what I do. And then you know, what happens once you get to your destination is really great and a lot to be thankful for. And um, I never thought i'd be touring the world. You know when fifty years ago, when I was signed to EPICUM, I was just happy, too happy to make music. And what amazing music you make? Well, thank you, thank you so much,

and look at you. I can't remember when it was we talked about your um leap of faith into the next evolution of your experience at radio and now you basically dominate radio. Well I told you I was going to take over the world with your sappy love songs and and I think we did that together. You weren't kidding? Yeah, No, God is good. I I still love being on the air today as much as I ever have. But the travel, Yeah,

the travel is tough. Yeah, that's what i'd said. I said, once we get there, when it's showed time, it's all worth it, you know. And the audience is I'm so grateful for. But it's the two and from. It's the two and from. Don't you wish that, you know, we could do what they did in Star Trek, you know, and just topping that machine and de materialized and bet miss up study. Yeah, that would be maybe in our lifetime. We'll see it. But you know, I'm not knocking it.

I'm right now. I'm focused on Detroit in the studio, building next album. I'm getting ready to tour Australia for a month. And something that I started five years ago is the Detroit comeback story. So that's what we're going to talk about today. You've produced a movie, yes, in the process of touring and recording and my day job, your day job, very good day job. Um, we found in Detroit you know, besides the great music that has been coming out of Detroit since since at least my childhood.

Um that finally people are investing large amounts of money and resources to bring back Detroit, to rebuild and bring it back. And it's the film is not about just the wealthy people who love Detroit and are you know, giving people the tools and buildings and space and all of that. It's we've also filmed a lot of the individuals who make Detroit a great place to be and going back there every time in the last five years, every time we went back to film, there were new restaurants,

new stores, more people in the offices. Until the last time we were there there was like nine full occupancy in all the buildings. That one very generous and and smart investor decided to go ahead and dive all the way in as that's Dan Gilbert from Quick and Lawrence and then the Illetts family who are on the Red Wings and Tigers and one of the most beautiful theaters

in the world, the Fox Theater. Uh just happened to you know, have his family scrapes some money together and buy a pizza place that they would name Little Caesar's Pizza Little Caesars Pizza, which allowed them to buy the Tigers and the Red Wings UM and they're now building fifty city blocks of living space, working space, play space, fifty blocks of redevelopment. So that's really exciting. It's exciting

for me to see. It's it's a great American dream comeback story and will be one of the biggest conducts in history for a city in America. So we love being a part of it, and we fell in love with so many of the people there that it's an emotional thing to watch the movie five years later, the edited final form, and it's going to be released on the fifteenth of May, one day only, in about five

hundred theaters across America. And people can find out we're by going onto my UM website m Bolton dot com and they can also go on Stathom Events dot com. And it's exciting. It's a lot of work and finally come to fruition And now, what if what if somebody is you know, my daughter Sheyla, who you met many years ago, is expecting a baby any day. What if we're in the delivery room and we missed the fathom of it, Michael, what do we do how can I see the Detroit story or what if I'm you know,

on the air doing this little radio show. I have a feeling, you know, people in high places if you can get you that film, I know. But how about my listeners who who don't know Craig getson or somebody like, is there a way to see it if they missed the Fathom event or is this just like a get there if they don't see it on the ft where it is in theater, They're going to have to wait until we decide who we're going with for the release

of it for worldwide distribution. So we have some offers and we're negotiating, and we're going to choose the best partner who's going to give it the longest, healthiest life possible so that everyone can see it. And we're not going to drop it off were it will air one time only. This is a limited release in theaters, but it's a big splash. To get into theaters for a documentary, it's unusual. So tell me about some of the artists you've got and some of the music that we're going

to hear when we go see it. Well, some of the artists who are mind blowing ore. Aretha Franklin first of all, who still lives in Detroit and loves it, and she talks about her childhood through her becoming years and developing years and her friendship with Smokey Robinson. How coolbox together? How cool must it be for some who was there in the heyday and then saw the demise to be able to witness the phoenix rising from the ashes, that's just got to be the best. Just gave me chills.

That is really amazing. And we talked about it, and they all are weird because in the last five years everyone has seen the growth. You can you can't miss it really. Um. But yeah, I'll tell you this. I noticed even the very first request we put in for artists and and icons to step forward and you know and basically talk about Detroit, they all were all in, when can we do this? Where do you want us?

You know? Um? Smokey Robinson is mesmerizing and his stories and his memory of you know, the Mega Studio of Motown, which is in a little house basically where hundreds of number one records came out of. Um it's Smokey talks about his childhood and says, um, he didn't realize he was poor until he wasn't. Everybody had the same thing growing up, and everybody loved music, and he was surrounded

by great talent to people. But he's one of the ones who you know, has this infinite career, and he speaks with such youth and great energy and again so highly. His memories of Detroit ors are so deeply embedded. And then you've got people like Francis Ford Coppola, one of my favorite directors in my lifetime. And I never thought, why is Francis Ford's name? Why is Ford his middle name?

Because that's the hospital where he was born. Um. Gary Bruckheimer, one of the most successful producers of TV and film. Um is just raving about Detroit and his family and upbringing. Alice Cooper, did you know he was from Detroit? I did not know that. One of the nicest people you will ever meet. By the way, um uh and my golf buddy, um and he was really happy to talk about all the sports that they used to go to and and how you know one block down is an

Italian family of Italian neighborhood. Block from them is our Greeks, and from that Polish and they all got together and played baseball every day. That was their common connection. Um. Everybody basically created this love fest. So we've we call this movie a love letter to Detroit, not just from me um and enjoying and being attached to so many great people, but from all of these iconic legends, artists, producers, directors, moguls who are coming and giving back to Detroit. It's

a love letter. And a lot of the negative and the darkest parts of Detroit's history have been covered, but no one has come in and said, wait a second, take a look at what's going on here. And this is the city that used to be the fourth largest city in America. And we have our chival footage that comes from the twenties, thirties, and forties, and you see Detroit looking like New York at its peak hour, people filling the sidewalks and over branding basically with energy and

life and culture and now all that's coming back. But they're also it's also a city where during World War Two, the auto manufacturers turned their factories into um an arsenal for democracy, basically building armored vehicles that went over for our troops during the war. A lot of people don't know that either Detroit has given us a lot, and I think there's plenty of good reason to take a look at how did how great Detroit has been for us, but also how the few tour is looking really right there.

And so if you're an artist, or if you're into a tech company or any type of business at all, there are opportunities in Detroit, and so we cover that and we recommend it. But as an amazing woman of Veronica Scott, whom her place is called the Empowerment Plan, she hires only women who are homeless. Um takes them from shelters, gives them jobs and skills, and they wind up getting homes, being reunited with their families, and um, she's one of our champion heroes. We have a lot

of great people individuals. Um it's not just companies giving back, but it is still really important that the big three automakers continue doing well because they employ a lot of people and they give a lot back to their communities. There's there's so many great stories inside this one big story. But it's um, I'm American Dream Detroit and it's May fifteen. All across the country and our websites, um My Michael Bolton dot com will will lead you to where you

can get tickets and where it's playing. And then after that, as you said, um, it will air. It will air as soon as we decide where our partner is going to be around the world, whether it's going to be television, cable or streaming. We'll soon find out soon. Now, how exciting I can tell you are in love with Detroit, Like like when you fall in love and give your heart completely you are just smitten or you just just made it sound like poetry, but it is poetry. It

is poetry. And and when you were just talking about what's the woman's name who has the empowerment project Veronica Veronica Scott. When you impact lives and build families or rebuild family LEAs or reconnect families, you're changing the world. You're changing the world for good. You're changing You're not just impacting that family, because it has a ripple effect

and it impacts the whole community. So, you know, people like going and seeing movies about superheroes and people with magical powers, but these are the real superheroes because their

magical power is rebuilding lives. That's so exactly what this one courageous inspired woman does in Detroit day in, day out, and John Varvados during I was interviewing these people, if you can imagine me on the other side of the interview, UM, John Varvados went and checked out her place, UM and said that he would love to be in business with her. Everybody's amazed by by her work and her energy and what she's doing for individuals and families. And you're right,

as it changes the world. It changes the world one family at a time. So if a woman has I know you're you're acutely keenly aware of domestic abuse. If a woman is homeless because she has suffered domestic abuse, or because she suffers from alcoholism or drug addiction or mental illness, chances are her kids are in foster care or farmed out to a family or a friend. So when her life is restored, their lives are restored. That impacts the whole community. Yeah, that's all right. You know

all about this, This is UM. You know the patterns that are cyclical. You know you break those cycles by creating self esteem and individuals And I mean it's all good. It's very heavy subject matter that's very necessary to address, and I appreciate you talking about it. It kind of

sounds Detroit was a homeless woman. For a while. Detroit was a beautiful, beautiful gem, a gorgeous, musically talented, shining, you know star, and then, through a series of misfortunes, became that homeless woman, and now is being restored to not only her former glory, but something far better. Another amazing metaphor. I'm writing it down, if you don't mind, I'm going to use it and use it. Use it, Michael, and keep changing the world for good. I'm so proud

to know you, my class, so proud to know you. Well. Good luck. I haven't seen you in a long time. We need to get together and catch up. Last time, I tell our story, Michael, when I do my public speaking and and I tell people the truth that I had a major, major, major crush on you, and you invited me to come and spend some time with you, and I didn't know that showing up with eight of my kids was a bad idea. That was not a bad idea at all. That was fun. That was a

fun day. Yeah. Remember you climbing your waterfall with a broken thumb um vaguely, yeah, fractured thumb you had fractured your thumb, and my son climbed to the top of your waterfall, and you heroically went and saved him. I remember these things, Michael, all in the day's work. Now, that was fun, and it was We had a beautiful day there too. But I was hoping it's a very positive memory because I was trying to explain to people. But we had some important guests coming up to Connecticut.

So I don't know how you do it. I have no idea. I know three, my three daughters were more than enough to raise, especially the years, and and I'm adopting a two year old and you're you're saint. I'm crazy, is what. You're a crazy thing? All right? The Detroit Project, what's the what's the official title? American Dream Detroit. American Dream Detroit. But it's really a love letter to Detroit.

I will be there, I will find my way. I will figure out a way to to make that happen and uh and we can all fall in love with the beautiful woman Detroit is. Now. That sounds perfect to me. It's music to my ears. Thank you, Michael, thanks for being here the same. Give me some new music to play too, Dude, going to promise you're working on it. Not right now in Los Angeles. I can't talk much about it, but it's it's going to be very, very lush, powerful record. We need you, My sappy love Songs show

needs you. And if you get hook up with Smokey and have him do something new with you, that'd be great. Smoky idea. I love him. He's he's an inspiring guys. He's still things beautifully in tours and gives us inspiration about what the future is like if you take care of your voice. Um, a lot of great guests. There's an Eminem appearance in the film as well, in the commercial he did, and he doesn't do very much like that, so it was very impactful. But he did something for

Detroit that's really powerful statement. But you know, smoking and we'll show up again somewhere together. Okay. Michael Bolton, thank you for being on the Delilah Show. I love you. I love you too. I hope to see you soon, do I