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CNN Larry King Live

Michael Bolton's New Swing Album; New Book by Columnist Cindy Adams; Points of Light Foundation President Speaks

Aired July 01, 2006 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN ANCHOR: An historic space mission is on hold. Storms in Florida forced NASA to scrub this afternoon's scheduled launch of shuttle Discovery. They'll try again tomorrow.
That is the news for now. I'm Susan Roesgen. "LARRY KING LIVE" is next.

KING: Tonight, Michael Bolton. After selling more than 50 million records worldwide, "Desperate Housewives" Nicolette Sheridan's fiancee is stepping into Frank Sinatra's shoes.

Also, an outrageous take on Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Britney Spears from the one and only Cindy Adams, covering the rich, the famous and the infamous for more than 20 years.

And then the world's most collected living artist Thomas Kinkaid. How the Painter of Light hooked up with the Points of Light Foundation.

Plus, a multi-millionaire, after losing nine jobs in eight years, Steve Scott shares life changing lessons he learned from the richest man who ever lived.

And singer Eric Bonet surviving a high profile marriage to Halle Berry and their even more public break-up.

All that next on "LARRY KING LIVE".

KING: It's a great pleasure to welcome to "LARRY KING LIVE," always great seeing him, Michael Bolton, the singer, songwriter, two- time Grammy winner.

He has sold, by the way, over 52 million albums and singles. He has been accorded fame all over the world. And his newest album is "Bolton Swings Sinatra." There you see its cover. We have it here.

"The Second Time Around" is the subtitle, one of, of course, the famous songs written by Sammy Cahn, which his fiancee Nicolette Sheridan sings with him.

How did that come about to do a duet?

MICHAEL BOLTON, SINGER, SONGWRITER: It's a great story. But it's just one of those kinds of miracle stories.

Nicolette and I were together 14 years ago for about six years. And we'd just started seeing each other again. And I was putting together the songs for this "Bolton Swings Sinatra" record. And one of the song's I kept hearing was actually from a live recording from Frank in Sidney, Australia, the Sammy Cahn song "The Second Time Around."

And, of course, the lyrics were about that second time and where you are in your life.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: (Inaudible)

BOLTON: (Inaudible) That's right. Well, you know this song.

So I put it on. I was playing everything for Nicolette and saying what do you think? What do you think about this one? I love this one. And I'm not sure about this one. And I just dropped that on there. It was personal.

And then, you know, Nicolette's always had a beautiful voice but been terrified to step up to the microphone. And she is basically a fearless person but singing is one of her deep fears.

KING: Fears.

BOLTON: So got her into the studio. She had to walk by -- we were in the Capitol Records Studio, the historic picture of Sinatra and Crosby on the wall and Judy Garland. And she had to pass these pictures of these icons and walk up to the microphone, terrified. Did a great job.

KING: Why Sinatra? By Michael Bolton?

BOLTON: It actually started as a swing record. It started as a big band swing record. That's what I really wanted to make. And I started listening to hundreds of songs and different versions, six, seven different versions of some of the greats.

And of course, they've all been recorded by, you know, from Billy Holliday to Nat King Cole all the way through, you know, Tony Bennett, of course. And I just kept finding one important reoccurring theme and that was Sinatra's stamp on these songs.

The ones that I wanted to record, Frank had delivered these incredible performances. And that is the reason why those specific performances are played on radio and TV everywhere around the world.

If you're in Italy, Japan, wherever we travel, in the background all of a sudden Sinatra's voice will come on. And you'll actually -- you'll feel more at home. There is something familiar. There is something that makes you actually feel good about it. That's what endures.

And so I decided this is what it is. It's "Bolton Swings Sinatra" record. KING: And of course, we have "You Go to my Head" and "Fly me to the Moon" and "For Once in my Life" and Summer Wind" and "Funny Valentine," "Got You Under my Skin," "That's Life." You do that up tempo?

BOLTON: Yes. "That's Life" is...

KING: "Second Time Around" with Nicolette, "The Girl from Ipanema," "Night and Day," "They Can't Take that Away from Me" and "New York, New York."

What, Michael -- and you're a great singer.

BOLTON: Thank you.

KING: With enormous range and you can do incredible things with your voice? You do Opera.

BOLTON: Yes. I love it all.

KING: What did Sinatra have?

BOLTON: (Laughing) Sinatra, besides amazing phrasing, he's a story teller. Sinatra would tell the -- Sinatra understood that composition's are the single most important thing for an artist. The way a great actor knows a great script is necessary, no matter how good you are as an actor.

Sinatra would lead the lyrics and understand the intention of the composer. And then tell that story. And I think one of the elements that made Sinatra a great actor was what made him a great interpreter and great story teller.

He also had beautiful tone. If you listen to his ballads, listen to "My Funny Valentine" and "The Wee Small Hours," you see this guy who everybody -- I know you spent time with him. You had this great interview with him. You probably did more than one. But one of the best was with the two of you.

That he had this tough persona, this tough image. But what I heard while studying and listening to him was the most vulnerable human being at the microphone. That's when he was -- that's when he had the liberty, the permission to be that kid he was, the child he was, a single child.

KING: So many facets to him.

BOLTON: A multilayered guy.

KING: Was it tough, therefore, to find, for you, singing his songs?

BOLTON: You know, it was a challenge. I wouldn't call it intimidating but, you know, I've sung with Pavarotti, I've sung with Ray Charles, my great hero, mentor, you know, and you're nervous at first when you do that. But it's what you love to do. And they've picked this body of work, this material that spoke to them. And brought it to life. Here, you're walking into these enormous shoes, especially with songs like "New York, New York" and "That's Life." And you just have to bring something that you feel strongly to the microphone. Your job is to step up and hit it out of the park.

KING: And you recorded in the same studio, at Capitol, where Frank recorded.

BOLTON: Yes. We recorded where Frank did a lot of his records.

KING: Was his shadow there?

BOLTON: His shadow is everywhere. We were doing a couple of interviews there and we were talking about how large the Sinatra shadow looms basically everywhere. And the power went out during the interview.

KING: (Laughing) Frank's there.

BOLTON: You see what I'm saying? Those are big, giant shoes.

His family's been great. His family's been -- I've sent them all records and I've spoken to Frank Jr. And I hope to work with him. He's a great arranger as well.

KING: Michael Bolton is our guest, the great Michael Bolton. Over 52 million albums worldwide and the new one is "The Second Time Around, Bolton Swings Sinatra". Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Michael Bolton.

The new one is "Michael Bolton Swings Sinatra, The Second Time Around."

Speaking of that, why did you break up with Nicolette?

BOLTON: (Laughter) I figured you weren't going to hit me with those questions.

Nicolette and I went back 14 years, for almost six years. It just wasn't time. It wasn't time for us. I was launching my career. I live on the East Coast. I have three daughters. I was raising three daughters. It was tough. And the distance was tough. But really the only thing I can zero in on is that it just wasn't time. And --

KING: Timing is everything.

BOLTON: So they say. It matters a lot in music.

KING: Are you going to get married? BOLTON: Yes. Well, we're engaged. We haven't picked a date yet.

KING: Soon?

(LAUGHTER)

I'm just asking. People ask. If you're engaged, you say when.

BOLTON: Yes. We haven't talked about when, yet. She starts her season. "Desperate Housewives" starts up again in July. And she's going to have a really intense schedule. But based there in L.A. And I'm going to be touring the world on this Sinatra swing record.

KING: So you're back to the years ago. The unhealthy part of it.

BOLTON: No. Because my kids, now they're grown up. My kids are...

KING: How do they get along with Nicolette?

BOLTON: ... like, you know, I'm coming back. Yes, don't come back for another week, Dad. Things have changed.

So I'm spending a lot of time in Los Angeles, much more time in Los Angeles. And Nicolette and I travel together. And, you know, we...

KING: Do they get along, the kids?

BOLTON: Very well, very well. Yes.

KING: How did she sing with you? How well did that go?

BOLTON: It went extremely well. Because I've always heard her singing around the house and I've heard her singing in the car, as long as the music is loud enough. She's very self-conscious about singing. Always believed that she had a bad voice.

KING: Not about acting?

BOLTON: She's fearless as an actress. And fearless generally in life. She is very strong. And this is just one of her giant childhood fears, stepping up to a microphone.

But I've heard her. I said, listen to me, you have pitch. You know when you're singing in key. You're singing along with these songs perfectly in key. Just trust me. If we get you in the studio, we'll get a great vocal performance out of you. And just sing the lyrics because you know what the song is about.

And she stepped up and did it. She has beautiful tones.

So it's a great blend. It's kind of a dance. That song is a dance between the two of us. KING: You were with a hard rock group?

BOLTON: I played some hard rock 'n roll years ago. I started out doing blues then R&B. And then, I had a rock 'n roll group, Black Jack, for about four years. Not quite metal, but hard rock.

KING: I can't picture you singing that.

BOLTON: My hair was down to here, if you remember.

KING: Now, that I remember.

BOLTON: I played guitar.

KING: But you sang at our gala for my charity and your hair was...

BOLTON: that's right. I had long hair. But I did the aria.

KING: Yes, you did.

BOLTON: That's right.

KING: So we can't peg you, can we?

BOLTON: I hope that, you know, what I eventually do is look back at the ability to sing or the opportunity to sing R&B, pop, blues, classical, swing, jazz. And say, you know what? I just love to sing. I was born to sing.

KING: Is that good, though, Michael? Because it used to be said about Mel Tome, Mel, you could have been fantastic. But you do too many things well. Like it's being cursed with being great.

BOLTON: Well, I think that if I hadn't established -- I'm really fortunate to have established a core audience through the pop years at Columbia Records when it was a hit after another hit after another hit, from "When a Man loves Woman" to "How am I Supposed to Live Without You?" and "Time, Love and Tenderness."

I had a string of hits that is difficult to have these days. These days, a lot of the supposed music -- there are some great artists out there. But kids are tuning in and out so quickly. And it's all a kind of a digital fast food mentality.

I was fortunate to have a tremendous amount of success at a certain time where these CDs are in people's homes. And families, children were conceived to them. Teenagers were going through their roughest times of their lives, where their becoming years while their parents were playing my music in their homes.

So I see a lot of 20 something's at my concerts. And I think once you establish yourself, then you can branch out and say I'm doing this, too. But when you come to see me in concert, I'm going to bring the hits. The hits you grew up to or that you grew with me to know. And you always -- you have to deliver the hits for your fans. KING: What was the day like you cut the hair?

BOLTON: Scary. I had long hair through the years. When the British Invasion, the Beatles, the Stones, came over, my brother and I grew long hair. And you couldn't even walk down the Street in New Haven Connecticut without people yelling stuff at you.

So I think part of that was a rebellious position of, you know, I'm going -- this is the way I feel. This is what I'm going to do.

I had long hair forever. And when I cut it, the only fear was what if I don't like it? What if nobody else likes it? It is going to take me another ten years to grow it back.

It was not such a big deal. And it is a very quick shower. This is long. The picture on the album cover, on the CD cover, that's how I like it. I like it so short now that this is unruly and out of control. I just can't to get away, for my person to come back.

KING: The album is -- that's short.

BOLTON: That's short. That's short and that's how I like it now, which is amazing after all the years of long hair. Now if it's a little bit like this, I got to cut it.

KING: Who are you going to record after this? You going to do someone else?

BOLTON: You know, this record is off to a great start. And it's a new domain for me. But it's also -- it's music that used to be considered my parents' music, is now being embraced by a couple of generations. I think the next record will be another swing record. I really do.

KING: Saluting someone else or just yours?

BOLTON: I don't know. Maybe it'll just be great songs in this form, in this format, with the feel of a big band.

I love taking the big band on the road, love live horns, love working with an orchestra. So, probably another swing record.

KING: I love you.

BOLTON: Well, thanks very much. Likewise, you know, huge fan of yours.

KING: Michael Bolton, my man. "Michael Bolton Swings Sinatra," The Second Time Around." Nicolette Sheridan sings with him on that cut.

We'll be right back with more. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Now, welcome to "LARRY KING LIVE." One of my old friends -- oldest and dearest friends -- she is not old -- just oldest. Columnist for the New York Post, she has covered the rich, the famous and the infamous since 1981. Her new book is "Living a Dog's Life: Jazzy, Juicy and Me." There you see its cover.

Why? You wrote about your other one. Why are you so fascinated by dogs?

CINDY ADAMS, COLUMNIST, NEW YORK POST: Because I live alone. I'm a widow and orphan. You have a wife. You have and beautiful children. I am living all alone. That's the only family that I have.

And even if they think you're a smart mouth, witchy, gossip columnist, everybody sort of needs love. And they give me what I don't have ordinarily.

KING: So the book takes you through your life with Jazzy?

ADAMS: Yes. It takes me through the fact that these are the only two Creatures that I have. He's the only man, Jazzy, that shares my bed at the moment.

And I've learned that you can do without a husband quite easily, if you have these dogs. Because, you know, sweetie, taking care of a husband and a dog is the same thing. You have to house break them both. If it's a husband, you have to teach him potty training just like you have to teach a dog. You have to keep him on a short leash. You have to let him out every once in a while. So what's the difference?

KING: You also say -- and this is stretching it, Cindy -- dogs are better than sex.

(LAUGHING)

ADAMS: Well, at least dogs I have. That might be one of the reasons. But they give me all the friendship, the love that I want. They don't tell me I look fat. I have no problems with them. They don't argue with me. They're always there. They don't get cranky when I have to go out.

I've had plenty of sex, even starting in my high school days. And these are about what I'd like to have now.

KING: I'll move it back to dogs in a while, but I can't talk to Cindy Adams without talking about the business of gossip.

Is anything off limits?

ADAMS: Oh, of course it's off limits. I mean, I'm not one of these little people in the scruffy supermarket kind of tabloid. Of course it is off limits. I will never talk about anybody getting a divorce unless it is something out there already. I will never break that story. I also will never do anything about a story about someone and homosexuality. That's their lives. Not for me to go into. I will never go into drugs. I abhor anybody who does that. You know something, Larry? It is a good subject that you brought up. I think that if I weren't in this business, I would be dead set against what's happening. There is no limit anymore. Soon they're going to put a camera in a toilet and shoot up. There is just nothing that they're not doing today.

KING: Explain something. Why on earth was the baby of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie -- why was that news? Of what relevance was it to daily living?

ADAMS: None, none. You tell me. I never saw a baby that looked different. There is no difference in the baby. I don't know.

I think people are so starved for a little happiness or excitement themselves. Their lives are so devoid of anything that they need something to look up to.

You know, during the world war, they said that lipstick was the biggest seller in the world. Why? It was a cheap fix.

So now, when a woman looks at her husband, who's fat and sloppy, across a breakfast table. And he's got some dried egg on his shirt, she thinks, well, things are not so bad. Maybe Brad Pitt has a problem. Maybe Jennifer Aniston's guy is a problem. And they take their lives that way. It's borrowed excitement.

KING: Do you write about Britney Spears and whether she's a fit mother or not?

ADAMS: No, I didn't. But I did write about that insect she's married to, whatever his name is, Icky Federline.

This is very beneath everybody. So that is something that I can write about. But I didn't say she was an unfit mother. I wouldn't say that.

I did note that she was with her baby. It wasn't a nanny. It was she. And how would anybody who is a first-time mommy know how to handle a child?

The fact that she married an imbecile is something else. I have nothing to do with that.

KING: (Laughing) All right. Why is Paris Hilton news?

ADAMS: Larry, I just saw Paris Hilton last night. La Circe had a party. It was just her father and mother, Rick Hilton and Kathy Hilton, nobody else, just friends of the family.

There were cop cars. There were lines of paparazzi around the block, behind the rope. And I said what's going on here? Hey, Paris Hilton, her very own self. You tell me what it must be like for Marie Currie -- Madam Currie, who really did something, to look down from Heaven and say, what the hell did she do? It's inconceivable.

KING: What about paparazzi? Why do they flock for the one picture when you can go to the file and get a picture from yesterday?

ADAMS: Because this is not yesterday. Because maybe she has a zit on her face. Maybe she is sweating. Maybe she just had an argument with somebody. It's just current. That's what it is. Paparazzi are making fortunes.

But you want to know something? I am watching Brad Pitt and his Angelina closely, because why is Brad only always 20 paces behind her like a slave? Why is she pulling all the shots? She is not getting married. She wanted downtown Namibia. She is the one who is soon going to have no respect for Brad.

KING: Isn't he the biggest star?

ADAMS: I don't know. Tom Cruise would say he is.

(LAUGHTER)

But they're all of a piece. Nobody is getting married. I mean, I'm the only old hat person who thinks you're supposed to get married first and then have a baby.

KING: Are Jennifer and Vince going to get married? I am dying to know.

ADAMS: No, no.

KING: No? Not going to get married?

ADAMS: I know you woke up in the morning and thought, God, I've got to know that.

KING: Worried about it.

ADAMS: Yes. I understand. Me, too. Me, too.

No, they're not going to get married. And you know something? I really don't care one way or the other. But they're not.

KING: (Laughing) Back to the dog's life, do you...

ADAMS: Thank you.

KING: You've lost a dog haven't you?

ADAMS: I lost one dog. I lost Jazzy when I brought him to a kennel. And they brought him back to me dead, ice cold dead.

And I started a Jazzy's law as a result of that. That's kennel protection. People have to make sure with vaccinations and the fact that they've had rabies shots. Dogs should not go in there healthy and come back dead. So that's...

KING: That is one of the worst of losses, right?

ADAMS: Listen. With me, I was in a fetal position for three months. I couldn't bear it. This little creature that wrapped himself around me, that was three and a half pounds, that brought me warmth and cuddly and love, I couldn't stand it.

You know something? Think of all the strong women with the little dogs. I mean, Joan Rivers and her little dog. Elizabeth Taylor, Leona Helmsley -- you should excuse the expression -- all with little dogs. It's because, I think, it allows us our ability to show vulnerability where we can't otherwise. And so to lose it is very painful.

KING: Thanks, Cindy. Great seeing you. You look wonderful.

ADAMS: Thank you, honey.

KING: Cindy Adams, the book "Living a Dog's Life: Jazzy, Juicy and Me".

Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We welcome to 'LARRY KING LIVE" two great Americans, Robert Goodwin is president and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation. He's on your left. The new book is "Points of Life, a celebration of the American spirit of giving".

With him is Thomas Kinkade, well known as the Painter of Light, the world's most collected living artist. He's co-author and illustrator of "Points of Light."

This is a throw-back to the Bush Administration, Robert?

ROBERT GOODWIN, PRESIDENT, POINTS OF LIGHT FOUNDATION: It is. Former President Bush used the term as a metaphor for how everyday citizens could transform their communities through their selfless acts of giving. A nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization based in Washington carries on that tradition.

We are working at the community level, as well as at the national leadership level, getting more people involved helping to make things right in their communities through their giving, and we are so very pleased that Thomas Kinkade, who reflects warmth and compassion through his painting as "The Painter of Light," is now the "Ambassador of Light," and we have teamed up to raise money - in some cases, Larry, to help the victims still suffering from the storms of the Southland -- but mostly to get the word out that everyday people can make a difference in their communities.

KING: How did they get you, Thomas?

THOMAS KINKADE, ARTIST: Well, it is just sort of a natural outgrowth of my life. When I was a young boy, my mother told me, "Your talents are God's gifts to you, and what you do with those talents are your gift to God. So from the very first print I ever published, I began raising money for charities. We did a program, for example, right after 9/11, where I did a painting of a flag flying over the New York City skyline. It raised almost $2 million for the Salvation Army for their relief effort, and I was just so involved with non-profit work that at a certain point we realized we were floating in the same circles and we decided to team up.

We wrote the book as our first project, but, you know, I've taken my paintings - the painting I presented to you earlier, actually, is our national fundraising painting...

KING: Beautiful.

KINKADE: ...and I take that all over the country and I unveil the painting, I do a little sketch on the back, and we auction it -- and so far in the last four months we have raised $350,000 for the Points of Light.

KING: Once - no pun intended, Robert - what is the "point" of the book? Why do we need the book?

GOODWIN: Inspiration - we know that there is an instinct deeply embedded in the American tradition of giving back to community, but people need to be motivated. They need to understand, first of all, you don't have to be specially trained, perhaps. You don't have to have some great degree. You just have to be willing to extend yourself in behalf of others in need, and these are stories of ordinary people who have done extraordinary things and have transformed both individual lives, and in some cases, communities, through that.

So we want to inspire people. We want people to understand that anybody can do it and that there are resources at the community level that will assist you if you are so inclined to become involved in powerful ways.

KING: Is "volunteer" a word that is ingrained in us? Do we naturally volunteer, or not?

KINKADE: I think that human beings have an instinct to care about other human beings, and we talk about "letting your light shine." Well, human beings don't glow physically in a dark room, but "letting your light shine" is just a metaphor for caring enough about another human being, or about your community, or about your world, to inconvenience yourself and to work at making a difference.

I call light "love in action," so if you take your love for your fellow human being and put it in action, that is "letting your light shine." So everywhere I speak, I talk about "letting your light shine." Points of Light is a celebration of 12 individuals, ordinary people, who have made an extraordinary difference - real people...

KING: The book is about them?

KINKADE: ...real places, and it celebrates them, tells their story. One of the people featured is my own daughter, Merritt, who, a couple of years ago, on Christmas Eve, baked some cookies for a local senior care facility and that has grown into what we call Merritt's Cookie Connection. She gives cookies to retired people, elder people, some of which never have a visitor, and she brings cookies to them.

KING: Could be anything, right?

GOODWIN: That's right.

KING: Doing something for someone else that puts you as self out.

GOODWIN: Here's the point, Larry, I think. One of the greatest causes of the most serious social problems facing our nation today is social isolation - people who are literally estranged from one another and from the redeeming virtues of community.

What we have got to do is to bring people together across their differences -- whether they are the most obvious differences of race or class or age or sexual orientation or all the things that divide us -- to be able to build community and where people feel they have a stake in a community of other people.

Well, service and volunteering simply becomes the most available strategy to the average person to forge those connections, so volunteering is an instinct of the American tradition. Giving back is a requirement for healthy communities, and what we are doing for this is telling those stories and encouraging more people to do the same.

KING: What happens when you call 1-800-VOLUNTEER, or the Web site is www.pointsoflight.org. What happens when you call?

GOODWIN: You can call 1-800-VOLUNTEER, or if you go to the Web site - we have several different ways to get to us on the Web - if you go to that Web site and you put in your ZIP code, you will get back a list of volunteer opportunities within your community.

Points of Light, through our affiliate structure of what are called volunteer centers - nearly 400 around the country - are in the business of helping you to find places where you can go in your neighborhood, in your community, that meet your interests, your time, your availability. So, 1-800-VOLUNTEER will take you through a very simple intake process, and we will put you into a volunteer opportunity that fits your interest.

KING: President Bush still involved, Thomas?

KINKADE: Oh, yes he is. As a matter of fact, we had a wonderful meeting with the president earlier this year. This is his heart. He spoke of "a thousand points of light," obviously, and this really is not a new concept.

John F. Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." Really, I think there is something so satisfying, deeply satisfying, about serving.

A case in point - we called the 1-800-VOLUNTEER and got hooked up with a community clean-up. It was a local park that a bunch of kids were getting together and picking up pieces of trash. That Saturday became one of the best memories I have made with my children.

I have four beautiful children. My wife and I have been married almost 25 years. But we look back and we realize this has become a habit in our family -- the idea of giving back, taking time to make a difference, and...

KING: You feel good yourself, right? KINKADE: You feel better yourself than you do - it's more fun to go clean up the neighborhood park than it is to hop in your car and go to the neighborhood mall. One is completely self-serving; the other is a way to give back. And even in a small way like that, you build a memory that lasts a lifetime.

KING: Robert, you said that people can provide hope for the world. Isn't that a little "Pollyanna-ish"?

GOODWIN: I don't think so. I think that one of the great problems that we have is so many people have no sense of hope. They have no sense of options. They really feel like that choices that they face are so debilitating or non-existent.

Well, when you - if you are a child and you need help in the classroom, or you need positive role models, to have a caring mentor open up a world of new possibilities, you certainly provide hope for that person in that corner of the world. And if enough other people do the same, then the whole idea of what is the uncertain future before us changes.

I give you another very simple idea. One of our favorite people and another author of some renown, Marianne Williamson, who I know you know...

KING: Very well.

GOODWIN: ...Marianne said in her book, "Illuminata," that we refer to all the time - she said, "The antidote to that which is fundamentally wrong is the cultivation of that which is fundamentally right."

So if people living in isolation from one another is at the root of our most serious and seemingly intractable social problems, then connecting people across their differences is the hope for tomorrow.

KING: I thank you for that great painting. You're a great American artist.

KINKADE: Thank you.

KING: The book is - the foreword is by George Bush, the 41st president - the book is "Points of Light: A Celebration of the American Spirit of Giving." Our guests have been Robert Goodwin and Thomas Kinkade. I thank you both - salute you both.

GOODWIN: Thank you, Larry

KINKADE: Thank you, Larry.

KING: Thank you, guys.

We'll be right back. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Welcome back to LARRY KING LIVE. A great pleasure to welcome - a return visit with Steven K. Scott, one of the "good guys," multi-millionaire entrepreneur, motivational speaker, helped build more than a dozen multi-million-dollar companies from scratch, co- founded American Telecast, and his new book, a terrific read, is "Lessons from the Richest Man Who Ever Lived" - the man was King Solomon - "Secrets to Success, Wealth and Happiness."

How did you come across this idea?

STEVEN K. SCOTT, AUTHOR: Well, I had flunked out of six jobs my first four years after college, and a friend was staying at the house, and I said, "Gary, I don't understand it, you know? I've got a business degree, I work hard, I'm first in, last out, and no matter what I do, I can't hold a job. I can't get ahead of the game. I'm always behind." And he said, "Well, let me think about it."

The next morning we woke up, and he came and said, "I've got the answer." I said, "You've got the answer?" He said, "Yeah. How'd you like to be smarter than all your bosses?"

I go, "Yeah, right. I'm 25 years old and broke." And he said, "No, there's something you could do. If you do it, in two years you'll be wiser than all your bosses, and I'll bet in five years you're a millionaire." And that really made me laugh because I didn't even have grocery money at the time.

He said, "There's 31 chapters in the Book of Proverbs, 31 days in a month. Every day, read the chapter of the day and write down the wisdom and insights you gain. Do that for two years, and I promise you'll get wiser."

Well, literally, two years and two months later, we started on Job No. 10, started a little business, and the rest is history.

KING: What did King Solomon - what was he saying that relates to today?

SCOTT: Oh, everything.

KING: Other than, "I'm going to chop the baby in half."

SCOTT: There you go. I'll tell you, he gave us 913 incredible insights for wisdom. He tells us why marriages fail, and he shows us how to reverse them. He shows us why every relationship starts to deteriorate very quickly and how we can reverse that. He showed us the No. 1 problem in relationships and how to resolve that. He showed us the No. 1 destroyer, which is anger - how to deal with our anger and other people's anger. He gave us the key - I call it the "master key" -- the key to every room from the boardroom to the bedroom, in how to be an effective and persuasive communicator, and just on and on and on.

KING: He was David's father, right?

SCOTT: He was David's son.

KING: David's son?

SCOTT: Yes.

KING: Wasn't he running a country, also?

SCOTT: At the age of 12, and that's where all this wisdom came from. He was terrified about taking over responsibility for God's chosen people, and God said, "What will you ask of me?" And he said, "All that I ask is that you would grant me wisdom, that I might rightly judge your great people."

And God said, "Well, because you've only asked for wisdom -- you haven't asked for riches, honor, glory, the life of your enemies or your own length of days, but only for wisdom - I am going to grant you more riches, honor and glory and more wisdom than any king before you or after you, and that's why we have the Book of Proverbs.

KING: Do you think a lot of people follow Solomon without knowing they're following him?

SCOTT: Absolutely. In fact, for example, Oprah Winfrey uses Solomon's key to winning every race, and she probably doesn't even know it. But he says, "Do you see a man who is diligent in his business? He will stand before kings." And diligence is a lost art in our society, our culture. People expect things to be given to them, and in reality, Solomon says, if you're truly diligent, you'll gain a sure advantage, you're going to achieve levels of success you've never imagined.

That's what the founder of Jet Blue -- when he read the book, he said the diligence chapter just blew him away, and so it's - he shows us diligence, communication, how to effectively partner, Larry, because nobody in history has ever achieved anything extraordinary without partnering, and yet most people think they've got to do it themselves.

KING: You write of power, power secrets.

SCOTT: Right.

KING: Is that a good word or a bad word?

SCOTT: You know what? It's a good word when you need power. Solomon gives us what he calls - what I call - the "power secret" for turning dreams into reality. And everybody has hope, but those hopes get quickly dashed. Well, Solomon showed us the key to realizing our greatest hopes.

In fact, this was one of the most powerful insights I gained while studying the Proverbs. He says "hope deferred makes the heart sick." When people come into a relationship, a woman comes in with four great needs, a man comes in with three great needs - and they instantly begin to defer one another's hopes.

When you defer somebody's hopes, the heart gets sick. When the heart gets sick, you lose your energy, your creativity, your productivity, your motivation. You ultimately lose your trust and then your commitment.

KING: The book is "The Richest Man Who Ever Lived."

How wise was he?

SCOTT: I have never seen anything like it.

KING: He'd have been a great guest, right?

SCOTT: Oh, Larry, you could have had him for two years and never repeated the same subject. So he was that wise.

KING: The wisest man of his time?

SCOTT: I think the wisest man who ever lived - that's what God said about him - and I look at your life, Larry - and this isn't to pat you on the back - but you do so many things.

He tells about the keys to communication, and the first key is to become a good listener. You're an awesome listener. He says that the key to winning every race is diligence. That's something completely different than our culture teaches, and you're one of the most diligent people I've ever known. And he says, "Do you see a man diligent in his business? He'll stand before kings," and I know you've had kings and queens on your show.

KING: Terrific book, Steven.

SCOTT: Thank you, Larry.

KING: You can get it at Amazon.com; you can get it at Wal-Mart -- "The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomon's Secrets to Success, Wealth and Happiness," written by Steven K. Scott with a foreword by Dr. Gary Smalley.

Back with more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We now welcome to LARRY KING LIVE, to close it out tonight -- and later Eric will be singing "The Last Time," which was written by both Eric and David. David will be on the keyboard.

We welcome Eric Benet and David Foster. Eric is the contemporary R&B singer whose new album, "Hurricane," is his personal journey during a six-year absence, and David Foster is the co-producer of the CD "Hurricane." He's the multi-Grammy-winning producer and composer. He's worked with musicians such as Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston and Barbra Streisand.

What led to this, Eric?

ERIC BENET, R&B SINGER: Well, David, as you just mentioned - I mean, David has been an artist that, growing up and getting my own, you know, creative direction, whenever I saw David's name on a project - Earth, Wind and Fire, you know, Chaka Khan - I would just grab it, take my little allowance money and study it. So, to be in the studio working with him is blowing me away.

KING: Did you select him?

BENET: Absolutely.

DAVID FOSTER, MUSIC PRODUCER: Hunted me.

BENET: Absolutely. I did. I stalked you.

FOSTER: Yeah.

BENET: You were at some event, and I found out you would be there, and I just kind of bum-rushed you.

KING: Did you like his work?

FOSTER: I do, and, you know, I, as you probably can imagine, love great singers, and have been so lucky to work with so many great singers, and Eric falls completely in that category. He has an amazing, amazing voice that's never really gotten to the masses the way we hope this album will do for him.

KING: What do you mean, Eric, by "a personal journey"? You were a six-year absence -- from where?

BENET: I hadn't had a record out in a while, and I think, you know, the name of the album, "Hurricane," for me, it's a metaphor for just, you know, rebirth, you know, like a redirection in life.

KING: Why hadn't you?

BENET: Well, it took a minute for me to, you know, there were a lot of things going on in my life personally, and there were a lot of things that I wanted to say in this CD "Hurricane," and it just took me awhile to say it the right way, to say it with the right musical backdrop, getting people involved like David, so there...

FOSTER: And the right personal slant.

BENET: Yeah...

KING: David, isn't it hard, though, in this business, to take any time off - "out of sight, out of mind"? FOSTER: It seems to work for some people, and then others, you're right, they take time off and then they just go away - and then other people, it's like, you just want them to go away for awhile so that they will come back stronger and bigger and better. This album, though, was kind of a - this is the one thing I learned in the business - retreat and attack in another direction. So, if you're going head-on and it's not working, you retreat and attack in another direction, and that's what Eric did with this record, and it's a beautiful musical statement.

KING: And we're going to hear one of the selections to close it out in a little while.

How would you describe him, as a singer - if you hadn't heard him, let's say?

FOSTER: If I hadn't heard him? He would have won "American Idol."

(LAUGHTER)

KING: How would you say to someone who hadn't heard him?

FOSTER: Well, he's very soulful, but he also, really, he's a musician's singer, and that's what I love, too - you know, there are a lot of singers that sing great, but when you talk to them about music, they don't have a clue, which is fine, but it's easier for me if I can say, you know, "Go to the C-sharp," and he goes there because he's a musician as well as a singer and he's got this tremendous voice, sings in tune, too, which is like really important to me. I hate it - your wife sings in tune, by the way...

KING: She does. Is that odd?

FOSTER: Well, it's rare.

KING: Mel Torme was the perfect for that, right?

FOSTER: Yeah, he never called me, though. I don't know what happened there. He didn't need me, I don't think.

(LAUGHTER)

KING: He could sing.

FOSTER: He could sing.

KING: Are you back now? Is this the end of sabbaticals?

BENET: This is the end of sabbaticals. As a matter of fact, you know, the song that we're going to perform later on, "The Last Time" - it's going to be...

FOSTER: Which was co-written by my daughter, Amy...

BENET: Amy - absolutely - Amy, David and myself, we wrote this song. It's actually going to be the next single off this "Hurricane" CD. But while we're working that campaign, I'm going into the studio to get the next CD ready for next year, so no more two-year, three- year sabbaticals for me.

KING: Was it hard to cope after a marriage to Halle Berry that got so much attention?

BENET: It was difficult. It was difficult, and I think, like I said before, when I write music, so much of is it just me emoting...

KING: There's a lot of that in here? BENET: There's a lot of - yeah, there's definitely a lot of the lessons, life lessons, a lot of the growth as a man, as a father, as an individual put into the music, and, like I said, it took me awhile to say the right things I wanted to say and I'm very proud of it. It's a very solid, round piece of work.

KING: Did you write a lot of it?

BENET: I wrote a lot of it, and I got people like David and Walter A (ph) and, you know...

FOSTER: Humberto.

BENET: Humberto.

FOSTER: And then, full circle, it turns out I'm dating his wife now.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

KING: You're dating Halle Berry? I knew you would. Don't deny it, Foster.

(LAUGHTER)

It's been everyone else - why not you?

BENET: Whoa!

KING: Not for her, not for her.

FOSTER: Oh, me.

BENET: Oh.

KING: You have been.

FOSTER: That's not true

(CROSSTALK)

KING: You wish him luck? BENET: Oh, I love this man. Yeah, I wish him luck, absolutely.

KING: I'm only kidding, David.

FOSTER: I know.

KING: Thank you, David.

FOSTER: Thanks, Larry. Good to see you.

KING: Nothing but the best - wish you nothing but the best - you're a great artist. BENET: Thank you.

KING: Eric Benet and David Foster - the new CD is "Hurricane," and when we come back, David plays and Eric sings "The Last Time." Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BENET (PERFORMING "THE LAST TIME," A SELECTION FROM THE CD "HURRICANE"): "The first time I fell in love was long ago. I didn't know how to give my love at all.

The next time I settled for what felt so close. But without romance, you're never gonna fall. After everything I've learned, now it's finally my turn. This is the last time I'll fall in love.

The first time we walked under that starry sky, there was a moment when everything was clear, and I didn't need to ask or even wonder why, because each question is answered when you're near, and I'm wise enough to know when a miracle unfolds, this is the last time I'll fall in love.

Now don't hold back. Just let me know. Could I be moving much too fast or way too slow? 'Cause all of my life, I've waited for this day, to find that once in a lifetime, this is it, I'll never be the same.

You'll never know what it's taken me to say these words. And now that I've said them, they could never be enough. As far as I can see, there's only you and only me.

This is the last time I'll fall in love."

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