George Michael: Top Essential Songs

After going solo, George Michael soon transitioned from teenage pretty boy to outspoken pop force. In the years that followed, the singer-songwriter went on to work with idols such as Aretha Franklin and Elton John, and also took on social and sexual taboos in increasingly bold fashion.

Here are top George Michael songs:

Wham!, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (1984)

“I think ‘Go-Go’ is undoubtedly the most remembered Wham! song because it is that much more stupid than anything else,” Michael.

“Careless Whisper” (1984)

“I’m still a bit puzzled why it’s made such an impression on people. Is it because so many people have cheated on their partners? Is that why they connect with it? I have no idea, but it’s ironic that this song — which has come to define me in some way — should have been written right at the beginning of my career when I was still so young. I was only 17 and didn’t really know much about anything – and certainly nothing much about relationships,” Michael in an interview.

Wham!, “Everything She Wants” (1984)

“Quite often he’ll start a song with a verse or a chorus and nothing else. And he’ll build that up day by day. ‘Everything She Wants’ started off as a humble scrap of a home demo. He elaborated on it over about four days until it became a complete song,” Michael’s engineer Chris Porter.

Wham!, “Last Christmas” (1985)

This one has become a seasonal classic. Over the years, the song has been covered by a range of artists, including Jimmy Eat World, Hilary Duff, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne and Carly Rae Jepsen.

Watch: Wham! – Last Christmas

“Faith” (1987)

Written, produced and arranged by Michael himself, the song was a landmark for the pop star, becoming the biggest-selling single of 1988.

Watch: George Michael – Faith (US Version)

“Father Figure” (1988)

There’s an interesting anecdote on how this song was created.

Michael set out to write a midtempo dance track for this Faith single, but in the studio, by mistake “the snare drum got muted, which changed the entire mood of the track,” he said later.

He finished writing the song and it became Michael’s most original-sounding thing on the album.

George Michael – Freedom! ’90

“Freedom” was a huge hit when it was released and it was the music video (directed by future Oscar-nominated director David Fincher) for it that’d go on to be truly iconic. Michael himself does not appear in the video — he’d famously decided by that point that he didn’t want to appear on-camera for photos or videos.

iTunes Playlist

Singer-songwriter George Michael dies aged 53

The ‘Last Christmas’ singer passed away peacefully at home, according to his publicist.

“Thames Valley Police were called to a property in Goring-on-Thames shortly before 2 p.m. Christmas Day. Sadly, a 53-year-old man was confirmed deceased at the scene. At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious.”

In 2011, Michael went through a near-death experience when he suffered from a severe case of pneumonia. Doctors in Vienna performed a tracheotomy in an effort to keep his airways open while he was unconscious.

“It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period,” wrote the singer’s publicist this evening.

The British singer started his career in the 1980s with the successful band Wham, and went on to become a household name. He later quit the group to start his solo singing career.

George Michael, who was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, sold more than 100 million albums throughout his illustrious career that spanned nearly forty years.