George Michael inducted to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Today June 25 would have been George Michael’s 60th birthday. Just recently he was selected to be inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame later this year. To remember his legendary career, which lasted more than 30 years, here are some videos with his greatest hits, as well as a trailer to the upcoming Netflix documentary Wham! (out on July 5th).

George Michael biography

George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was a singer, songwriter and record producer. He is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with his sales estimated at between 100 million to 125 million records worldwide. Michael was known as a creative force in songwriting, vocal performance, and visual presentation. He achieved 10 number-one songs on the US Billboard Hot 100 and 13 number-one songs on the UK Singles Chart. Michael won numerous music awards, including two Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, and four MTV Video Music Awards. He was listed among Billboard’s the “Greatest Hot 100 Artists of All Time” and Rolling Stone’s the “200 Greatest Singers of All Time”. The Radio Academy named him the most played artist on British radio during the period 1984–2004. Michael was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.

Michael was born in East Finchley, Middlesex, England, to a Greek Cypriot father and an English mother. He rose to fame after forming the pop duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981. Their first two albums, Fantastic (1983) and Make It Big (1984), reached number one on the US Billboard 200 and UK Albums Chart. They had commercial success with singles “Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)”, “Young Guns (Go for It)”, “Bad Boys”, “Club Tropicana”, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, “Last Christmas”, “Everything She Wants”, “Freedom”, and “I’m Your Man”. Their 1985 tour in China was the first by a Western popular music act, and generated worldwide media coverage.

Michael’s first solo single, “Careless Whisper” (1984), reached number one in over 20 countries, including the UK and US. The second solo single, “A Different Corner”, also reached number one in 1986. After Wham! disbanded that year, Michael released the number-one duet with Aretha Franklin, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”. His debut solo album, Faith (1987), stayed at number one on the Billboard 200 for 12 weeks and topped the UK Albums Chart. It is one of the best-selling albums of all time, having sold over 25 million copies worldwide.

George Michael was a talented musician who made a significant impact on the music industry. His unique voice and catchy melodies won him fans all over the world, and his music continues to inspire new generations of musicians and music lovers alike. Despite his personal struggles, Michael remained a beloved figure in the music industry, and his legacy lives on today.