George

2016 has been a troubling year for many. Several friends of mine have lost multiple friends and family members this year. For those who have not had any personal losses, there have been multiple celebrity deaths this year. Many of those losses have felt extremely personal.

Florence Henderson. Alan Thicke. Gene Wilder. Alan Rickman. Muhammad Ali. Harper Lee. Rene Angelil. Pat Conroy. Nancy Reagan. Gary Shandling. Patty Duke. Doris Roberts. Elie Wiesel. John Glenn. Zsa Zsa Gabor. Carrie Fisher. Glenn Frey. Bobby Vee. Merle Haggard. Leonard Cohen. David Bowie. Prince. Carrie Fisher. Her mother Debbie Reynolds the next day.

Many have had their fill of this year. These celebrity deaths have cut to the quick. While many have never met the celebrity in question, their deaths can be just as traumatic as when a loved one passes away. Celebrities become a part of our lives. We can tie them to special moments in ours. When we learn of a celebrity passing, someone whose work meant a lot to us, the grief can take our breath away. Losing that person and their art can send a person to their knees with grief.

David Kaplan, from the American Counseling Association, explained this phenomenon: 
“We grow up with these people…We see their movies, we hear their music on a regular basis and we really get to know them. In a sense, they become a member of our family — especially the ones we really like — so when they die, it’s like an extended member of our family dies. It’s somebody we feel like we know.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mourning-prince-why-we-grieve-celebrity-deaths-grief_us_57190ba4e4b0d4d3f722974a

The celebrity death that happened this year that has had the most profound effect on me was the death of George Michael, who died on Christmas Day.

I have been a devoted fan of George Michael and his music for more than thirty years. I first heard him sing “Careless Whisper”, in 1984, as part of the group “Wham!”, along with Andrew Ridgeley. It wasn’t long before I owned every Wham album: “Fantastic”, “Make it Big,” “Music From the Edge of Heaven” and “Wham! the Final.” Before the group broke up in 1986, they made history. Wham played in China in 1985. They were the first Western music group to ever play there. The concert created a revolution in the youth of China: 

“About 15,000 people were packed into the People’s Gymnasium in Beijing on April 7 that year to watch the first Western pop act to visit the country. News media reports at the time describe many in the audience as unsure how to react…police kept telling people not to stand up....But across the country, a young generation, throwing off the shackles of Communist austerity, was inspired by the duo. ‘I was dancing to their music in underground disco and rock parties in my art school in Chongqing,’ said Rose Tang, who went on to become a student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests. ‘Wham!’s music and their hair styles were all the rage among art students then.’ Tang, who now lives in Brooklyn, said the duo's music helped her on the path to activism. ‘The music was really instrumental in cultivating our rebellious spirit,’ she said.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/12/26/how-george-michaels-wham-baffled-communist-china-and-inspired-its-youth/?utm_term=.34cfaa3b10be

Looking back on that time in the history of music, in the 1980s, music videos were the newest thing. There was even a new channel that played music videos all the time-MTV. In a recent article for The Guardian, Maura Johnston wrote about the era, and why George Michael stood out from the crowd:

“Michael Jackson had the moves; Madonna had the moxie; Prince had the spry, shifting sexuality. George Michael had the voice, an instrument that balanced the smoothness of Sade Adu with the ebullience of Whitney Houston and supercharged any pop song it encountered, a voice that sounded relatable even as it leapt octaves… Michael’s voice could enter another dimension with zero notice at all, soaring into high octaves at crucial moments both heartbreaking and joyous, and going low when the situation called for it.”

https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/dec/26/why-george-michael-was-the-greatest-pop-star-of-the-mtv-era

More than George’s vocal ability, I was moved by George’s skills and technique as a singer. George did not simply sing the songs he sang, he performed them. As an actor recites lines from a script, George sang every note and word with great inflection. He transmitted thoughts into words and words into feelings. Audiences felt every emotion in every song.

Looking back on the early part of George Michael’s career, I can link his songs to different times in my life. I was in middle school during half of the Wham! years. I was a sophomore in high school when George released his first solo album, “Faith.”

This is a common phenomenon in the life of an artist. This fact was not lost on George Michael. In an interview he spoke about this phenomenon, which he was truly grateful for:

“…what I really am is a writer. You give people music for years and years when you write. You tie yourself to big events in their lives. You tie yourself to their childhood and their growing up, and it’s a real privilege.”

The 1990s proved to be a decade proved to be one of both success and devastation for George. In 1990 he released his second solo album, “Listen Without Prejudice.” Up until then, George had dated both men and women. However, this album speaks about his self-discovery of his sexual orientation. The title of the album is a plea to his fan base to listen to the music with an open heart, without prejudice.

In 1991 he met his first love, Anselmo Feleppa, on a concert tour in Brazil. Six months into their relationship, Anselmo was diagnosed with HIV. In 1992 George appeared in the tribute concert for Freddie Mercury, who died of complications due to AIDS. George poured his heart and love for Anselmo into the performance, which was one of the best live performances of his career. Anselmo would die the next year, also of complications due to AIDS.

In 1996 George released his third solo album, “Older.” Also that year, he met the second love of his life, Kenny Goss. A few months later, in 1997, George lost his mother, Lesley, to skin cancer. George later said that he felt Anselmo had sent Kenny into his life at the time he needed him most, upon the loss of his mother.

The losses sent George into a deep depression. He had numerous bouts of depression in his life, which led to George self-medicating with drugs. Unfortunately this would be a recurring theme in his life.

George released two more albums in the 1990s: “Ladies and Gentlemen” in 1998, and “Songs from the Last Century” in 1999, both of which are compilation albums. He later remarked that working on these albums helped him be creative at a time in which he was lost in grief and could not write.

The new century proved to be just as tumultuous for George. He released “Patience” in 2004, his first album of original music in eight years. Upon its release, he remarked that it would be the last album of original music to be released to the public.

In 2006 George released “Twenty Five”, a compilation album of the best of his music on the twenty-fifth anniversary in the music business. While on tour for “Twenty Five”, George appeared on network television in America on the show “Eli Stone.” Every episode of Season One had a George Michael song title as its title. His music was featured throughout the 13 episodes, and George himself appeared in 4 episodes.

In the mid 2000s, Geroge had several arrests for possessing marijuana, for which he did jail time and a stint in rehab. In one interview, George was seen smoking marijuana. He remarked, “This stuff keeps me sane and happy….if 

I were sane and happy.”

Sometime in 2009, George Michael and Kenny Goss split. They had been together for thirteen years. Later that year, George began dating Fadi Fawz. It was Fadi who would find George’s body Christmas morning.

In 2011 George created a new concert tour of his “Songs From the Last Century” songs, which he titled “Symphonica.” While on tour picked up a virus and was rushed to a hospital in Austria. There he fought for his life for 3 weeks. On Christmas Day of 2011, George gave a press conference to share that he had been ill, and that he had almost died. Fighting back tears, he thanked the doctors and nurses who had saved his life. He would later write a song about his brush with death, “White Light”, which was released as a single. Hearing that song now, after his death, is chilling to listen to. Even the music video is haunting.

In 2012 George brought his “Symphonica” show to the Paris Opera House, the Palais Garnier. That too was a historic performance. It was the first time that a solo artist had performed at the opera house. In 2014 George released the “Symphonica” concert onto CD. It would be his last album released.

In his lifetime, George sold over 100 million albums. To put that in perspective, here is a look at how that stacks up with other artists from the same era, who have recently passed away….

Whitney Houston-54 million

Prince-100 million

David Bowie-140 million 

Since his passing, purchases, and downloads of his music have gone up 3,000%. The numbers above will surely rise.

George Michael and his music have been a part of my life for thirty-two years, which is about 75% of my life up to now. While I do love many of his chart topping hits, such as “Faith”, “Everything She Wants”, “Freedom 90”, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, “Monkey”, "I Want Your Sex", “Praying for Time”, “Shoot the Dog”, “Amazing”, “Fantasy”, I certainly have a list of my favorite songs of his, much of which are lesser known songs, not necessarily chart topping hits.

One song that I absolutely love is called “Heal the Pain.” The song appeared on “Listen Without Prejudice” and “Ladies and Gentlemen”. In the following audio clip, George performed the song as a duet with Paul McCartney.

During his career, George performed in several duets. One of my favorite duets is “As”, with Mary J. Blige, written by Stevie Wonder. The following audio track is a remix of the song: 

George wrote “An Easier Affair” as a letter to his female fan base.

One of his songs that touches me on a deeply personal level is another of his duets: “Waltz Away Dreaming”, a duet with Toby Bourke. It is a song about love and death, and surviving the death of a loved one. George provides the comfort in the song. The first time I heard it, it left me breathless. This song has given me great comfort in times of personal loss.

During his career, George did three Christmas songs. I love all of them. The fact that he died on Christmas, with these songs such a part of Christmas, is devastatingly sad.

 “Do They Know It’s Christmas”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjQzJAKxTrE

“Last Christmas”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8gmARGvPlI

"December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)":

Looking back on the catalog of George Michael’s music, there are countless other songs that I love, that I could pick to share with you. It is abundantly clear that George had a dedication to his craft. He arranged and produced songs, played guitar and piano on the tracks, and sang back-up vocals. In a time of music artists being accused of cultural assimilation, George is lauded for creating his own sound. He was not trying to sound like anyone else; the music he created was uniquely his own.

As for his songwriting, most of his work is autobiographical. It is phenomenal what he shared. I cannot think of another artist who was so open and vulnerable with their audience. He wrote about the death of Anselmo in “Jesus to a Child.” He wrote about his infidelity in “Careless Whisper.” He first eluded to his homosexuality in “Freedom 90.” He wrote about his upbringing in London in “Round Here.” He dedicated “You Have Been Loved” to his mother after her passing. In this song, “My Mother Had A Brother”, he shared the story of his mother’s brother, who killed himself the day George was born.

While George wrote music on a number of topics, including sex, love, loss, self-empowerment, even songs in protest of war, I feel that it is his autobiographical works that most resonates with his fans, on a truly emotional level. He had revealed so much of his own life in his music. His music was a journal of his life. His music was a manifestation of his heart and soul and emotions. His music touched the hearts of countless millions, me included. That makes the news of George dying of heart failure to be devastatingly cruel.

Doctors have now performed a preliminary autopsy, which came back inconclusive. Some have reported that his lungs never recovered from having pneumonia in 2011. Others have reported that his heart was damaged as a result of years of drug abuse. Frankly, all of this could be true. However, it is conjecture at this time, until we know the cause of death. Regardless, Christmas will forever be a little bit darker because he is gone. However, his Christmas songs are a wonderful way to honor his life on the anniversary of his passing.

George Michael’s music was unique. His music evolved from his pop beginnings. However, his music evolved throughout every album, containing elements of rhythm and blues, soul and more. His music literally transcended genres. Maura Johnston wrote about the unique quality of his music:

“Michael displayed reverence for all the right things – compositional craft, searing vocals, kindness, writing pop songs to make the world feel, briefly, like everything was OK – while also feeling ambivalent toward the aspects of his job that distracted from them. It was a combination that made him a pop star who wasn’t so much down to earth as undeniably human, full of contradictions that fueled his undeniable, one-of-a-kind talent.”

https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/dec/26/why-george-michael-was-the-greatest-pop-star-of-the-mtv-era

I cannot believe it has been only a week since George passed. It has taken me this long to get my thoughts together, to even begin to know what to say about an artist whose music has been such a fundamental part of my life.

It has been reported that George has created three CDs full of music that have not been released to the public. If he wished for them to be made public, I pray they are released. To hear unheard music from an artist after their passing is an immense gift.

One of the last songs on George’s last album of original music, “Patience”, is the song, “Through.” However, sad to say, for now, George is through. That is the last song I will share with you.

George, your music has been an integral part of the soundtrack of my life. Thank you for being so open and honest and vulnerable in your music. That level of vulnerability is breathtaking to behold. Thank you for sharing your heart through your music. Thank you for sharing your music with the world. Until the end of time, thank you.

“George Michael's sweet soul music will live on even after his sudden death."

-Paul McCartney

“The greatest tribute we can give to George Michael is to open our ears one more time and listen to every bit of music that he gave us and let it rekindle in us the joy and passion and power with which we heard it the first time we listened to it.”-Chris Connelly, entertainment reporter