(Photo LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)
The 80’s and 90’s just wouldn’t be the same without the wonderful sounds of George Michael. He was a poet, an artist, and wrote some of the most amazing lyrics of any song writer. Sadly, we lost George Michael on Christmas. While there was no immediate determination of cause of death, his manager said that he passed away peacefully in his sleep, most likely from heart failure.
I have put together some Fun Facts, 17 of them, in honor of the facts that George Michael was only 17 when he wrote “Careless Whisper”:
1) He contributed background vocals to Elton John’s 1985 successes “Nikita”.
2) His involvement in the music business began with his working as a DJ, playing at clubs and local schools around Bushey, Stanmore, and Watford. This was followed by the formation of a short-lived ska band called the Executive, with Andrew Ridgeley, Ridgeley’s brother Paul, Andrew Leaver, and David Mortimer.
3) He was seriously considered as a replacement for Queen front man Freddie Mercury.
4) During his career, he has won 21 music awards from a grand total of 49 nominations.
5) His 1987 duet with Aretha Franklin on “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” gave the American singer her first and only UK number-one hit.
6) Russian President and billionaire Vladimir Putin paid him $3 million for an hour-long New Year’s Eve concert in Moscow 2007.
7) His decision to sing “White Light” at the 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony was inspired by the fact he almost died from pneumonia a year earlier and the message of overcoming adversity fit the Olympic theme.
8) His first and only appearance on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine was in January 1988.
9) He purchased John Lennon’s Steinway Model Z upright piano, also known as the “Imagine” piano, in 2000 and donated it to Liverpool’s Beatles Story museum.
10) Since its release in 1984, there have been over 400 cover versions of “Last Christmas”.
11) He released three studio albums while a member of Wham! and five as a solo artist.
12) George Michael formed the duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981. The band’s first album Fantastic reached No. 1 in the UK in 1983 and produced a series of top 10 singles including “Young Guns”, “Wham Rap!” and “Club Tropicana”.
13) He is a southpaw, better known as left-handed.
14) In late 1987, Michael released his debut solo album, Faith. In addition to playing a large number of instruments on the album, he wrote and produced every track on the recording, except for one, which he co-wrote.
15) When “I Want Your Sex” reached the US charts, American Top 40 host Casey Kasem refused to say the song’s title, referring to it only as “the new single by George Michael.” In the US, the song was also sometimes listed as “I Want Your Sex (from Beverly Hills Cop II)”, since the song was featured on the soundtrack of the movie. Despite censorship and radio play problems, “I Want Your Sex” reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 in the UK.
16) He appeared on the inaugural MTV Europe Music Awards show in 1994.
17) George Michael was just 17 when he wrote the song, “Careless Whisper”. He was taking the bus to his job as an usher at a movie theater when the inspiration struck – that’s where the reference to “The silver screen” comes from in the first verse. With lines like “Guilty feet have got no rhythm,” the song demonstrated his innate talent for the mature songwriting he demonstrated as a solo artist.
2016 has taken so many icons. At 53, this one is quite a shock. Rest In Peace you amazingly talented man.
Sources: UselessDaily.com, songfacts.com
No comments:
Post a Comment