The music world was in shock again this Christmas Day as news came down that pop star George Micheal had been found dead in his home in Oxfordshire, England. He was 53 years old.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, his publicist commented that he died peacefully in his sleep from heart failure. Police are remarked that his death was “unexpected, but there was no foul play involved.”

Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in North London, the son of a Greek Cypriot restaurant owner. He shot to fame in the 1980s as one half of the pop duo Wham! with Andrew Ridegley, spawning the hits ‘Careless Whisper’, ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’, ‘Everything She Wants’, ‘Freedom’, ‘Last Christmas’ and more. Going solo, he produced the 25 million selling album Faith in 1987, which out him on par with other luminaries of the day such as Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, and more. His album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 was also a success, featuring the single and video for ‘Freedom 90’. He continued to wow audiences with his four octave range and ability to touch several genres within a song.  

Though troubled later in his career by his issues with record labels, celebrity, drugs, arrests, depression, he can also be remembered as a tireless fighter for causes, most notably AIDS awareness. Michael continued to put incredible live performances, many times sold out, way up until the last few years, although his record sales fell off.

Michael’s many songs both solo and from Wham! Were covered many times, but artists across every genre, including rockers Seether and their take on ‘Careless Whisper’, and Limp Bizkit’s version ‘Faith’ that helped turn them into commercial  stars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu3VTngm1F0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulhoKujT2G8