[2][3] Lington has worked with Michael Bolton, Barry Manilow, Aaron Neville, Mike Love, Randy Crawford, Bobby Caldwell, Kenny Lattimore, Ryan Shaw, Little Richard, Joan Sebastian, Cristian Castro, Booker T. Jones, The Dap-Kings, Ray Parker, Jr., Taylor Dayne, Brian Culbertson, Chuck Loeb, William Bell, Dave Stewart, Vince Gill, Sheléa Frazier, and many others.

He was a member of the Tivoli Boys Guard for seven years (1978–1985), which is where he began his formal music education, receiving a gold medal for his efforts.

At 15, he became influenced by saxophonists David Sanborn and King Curtis and by American soul music artists like Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett and Ray Charles, which precipitated his decision to take on the saxophone as an instrument of choice.

In 1990 (at age 21), Lington moved to Los Angeles with the assistance of drummer Mark Schulman and soon became heavily involved in LA's contemporary jazz scene.

[8] In 2000, Lington signed with Gold Circle Records and released his 2nd album, Vivid, which produced two R&R charting singles, "Twice In A Lifetime" (#2) and "Sunset (Por Do Sol)" (#4).

In 2012, Lington released Pure on Trippin ‘N’ Rhythm Records, which featured guest artists Michael Bolton, Jonathan Butler, Lee Ritenour, Jeff Golub, and former American Idol and Tonight Show bandleader Rickey Minor.

[12] In 2014, Lington established his own label, Copenhagen Music, along with business partner Roy McClurg, on which he's since released the albums Soul Appeal (2014) and Second Nature (2016).

The album has been described as an "audio love letter to the city and sound of Memphis," a place that the artist has said influenced him significantly as a young man.

[14] Special guests on the album include vocalists Taylor Dayne and Sy Smith, as well as Booker T. Jones, Ray Parker Jr., Paul Jackson Jr., and Brian Culbertson.

It features an international line-up of guest artists including: Vince Gill, Philippe Saisse, Marc Antoine, Chris Standring, Dave Koz, Rick Braun, Sheléa and Russ Freeman.

In addition to Lington's alto sax and Eastmond's keyboards on all tracks, the participating musicians include Paul Jackson Jr. and Ray Parker Jr. on guitars, Freddie Washington and Alex Al sharing bass duties, Teddy Campbell on drums, Lenny Castro on percussion, and a number of other musicians appearing on other tracks – including one of the original FunkBrothers, Jack Ashford.

Stax soul legend William Bell, a 2017 Grammy-winner, sings lead on Lington's version of the Curtis Mayfield-penned "People Get Ready" and Dorian Holley handles vocals on the classic Tower of Power hit "So Very Hard to Go."

Venues on the tour included Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Universal Amphitheatre, and the Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington, D.C. (where they performed for President Bill Clinton).

In April 2018, it was announced that Michael Lington will join Barry Manilow once again as his opening act starting June 8 at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia.