Pop music fans suffered yet another shocking loss on Christmas Day when George Michael died at the age of 53.
The London native first turned heads as the lead singer of the lighthearted ’80s pop duo Wham!, and went on to record one of the decade’s biggest blockbuster albums with his 1987 solo debut “Faith,” which topped 10 million in sales and spun off a half-dozen hits, including “I Want Your Sex,” “Father Figure” and “One More Try.”
But Michael yearned to be taken seriously as a singer/songwriter and began looking inward with 1990’s “Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1.”
In the decades that followed, he battled with his record company over contracts and took extended breaks from the studio, while devoting proceeds from many of his singles to charity.
He only released five studio albums and launched two major U.S. tours during his lifetime.
He sold out the old St. Paul Civic Center in September 1988 and returned to town to headline Xcel Energy Center in July 2008.
In honor of Michael’s legacy, here are 12 of his most memorable musical moments.
1.) Wham!, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (1984): Wham! was on their second album by the time they made waves on these shores, with one of the most iconic videos of the early MTV era.
2.) “Careless Whisper” (1984): Michael was already looking beyond Wham! with this, his debut solo single, which was credited to Wham! in the U.S. and other territories where the duo was still a fresh commodity.
3.) “A Different Corner” (1986): Michael’s second solo single landed while he was still in Wham! — it featured on the pair’s final album, “Music from the Edge of Heaven.” It remains one of his most gorgeous, underrated moments, with a sparse, unusual production seemingly influenced by Prince.
4.) Aretha Franklin and George Michael, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” (1987): While Michael didn’t write this smash duet, he more than holds his own with soul legend Aretha Franklin.
5.) “I Want Your Sex” (1987): Prince’s influence pops up once again in this slinky, sexy — and, you know, a bit ridiculous — hit that Michael mostly abandoned after its initial run on the charts.
6.) “Father Figure” (1988): One of the finest moments on “Faith,” this No. 1 smash also featured one of his most memorable videos. (It’s also nearly impossible to sing at karaoke.)
7.) “Freedom ’90” (1990): Michael turned his back on the glossy, MTV-driven machine that made him famous by refusing to appear in the video, while delving into underground dance music for inspiration.
8.) “Fastlove” (1996): Michael built this mischievous ode to one-night stands on the chorus of Patrice Rushen’s “Forget Me Nots.”
9.) “Outside” (1998): Michael responded to his potentially career-ending 1998 arrest for “engaging in a lewd act” in a public park restroom by (finally) publicly coming out of the closet and releasing this playful song and video. He clearly valued his privacy for much of his career, but this was a moment where Michael essentially said “Yeah, I’m gay. So what?”
10.) George Michael and Mary J. Blige, “As” (1999): Released as a single everywhere but the U.S. (where Blige’s record label was nervous after Michael’s arrest), this lush cover of Stevie Wonder’s memorable ballad features one of the strongest vocal performances of Michael’s career.
11.) “Freeek!” (2002): Consider this Michael’s “I Want Your Sex” update for the 21st century.
12.) “Flawless (Go to the City)” (2004): The most carefree track from “Patience,” which turned out to be Michael’s final studio album, was a worldwide hit and landed at No. 1 on the dance charts in the U.S.
