Born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, George Michael rose to fame with the British duo Wham that was comprised of Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in 1981. Together they produced the hit songs “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, “Freedom”, “Everything She Wants”, and “Careless Whisper.” George Michael continued the chart topping success as
a breakout solo act with his debut album Faith which produced the hits “I want your sex”, “Faith”, “Father Figure”, “One More Try”, and “Monkey. His upbeat songs as well as his tender ballads would go on to define his signature sound throughout much of the 80’s and 90’s. His enormous talent led to him working with some of the biggest pop stars such as Elton John on the classic song, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” as well as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and countless others. Michael died of an alleged heart attack in his home on Christmas day. Although his career was not void of scandals which included drugs and arrests; he will predominantly be remembered as a great entertainer who was also an amazing singer songwriter who left a vast musical catalog and legacy of admirable charity work.
