George Michael Essentials

Born Georgios Panayiotou in London in 1963 to a Greek Cypriot restaurateur and an English dancer, George Michael grew up obsessed with David Bowie and Elton John, artists who blended camp and theatricality with the emotional candidness of a singer-songwriter. He founded Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in his late teens, becoming one of the most recognised faces in pop while releasing megahits like 1984’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, “Everything She Wants” and the modern holiday classic “Last Christmas”. As a solo artist, Michael could be playful but earnest, erotic but wholesome, a soul singer whose raw sexuality never overwhelmed the sweetness of his spirit. 1987’s Faith was a synthesis of ’70s soul (“Father Figure”) and contemporary dance music (“I Want Your Sex, Pts. 1 & 2”) that became the first album by a white solo artist to top the R&B chart. He followed it with 1990’s Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, which featured “Freedom! '90”, his everlasting anthem of self-determination.