George Michael was an English singer-songwriter, record producer and philanthropist. Regarded as a pop culture icon, 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.
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 is the second solo studio album by the English singer-songwriter George Michael, released on 3 September 1990 by Columbia Records. The album was Michael's final album of all-new material on Columbia until 2004's Patience. Listen Without Prejudice was a stark departure from Michael's previous album, 1987's Faith, with largely acoustic instrumentation and a sombre intensity in many of the lyrics and melodies. While the album topped the UK Albums Chart, disappointing sales in the United States led to Michael's legal battles against Sony Music, in which he accused the corporation of not fully supporting him as an artist.
"You Are Not Alone" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). It was released on August 15, 1995 by Epic and Sony, as the second single from the album.
"Black or White" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from his eighth studio album, Dangerous (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced it with Bill Bottrell. Epic Records described it as "a rock 'n' roll dance song about racial harmony".
"Freedom! '90" is a song written, produced, and performed by English singer-songwriter George Michael, and released by Columbia Records in October 1990. The "'90" added to the end of the title is to prevent confusion with a hit by Michael's former band Wham!, also entitled "Freedom". The song's backing beat is a sample from James Brown's song "Funky Drummer".
Older is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter George Michael, released on 13 May 1996 in Europe by Virgin Records and Aegean Records. The American release, which occurred one day later, was the first album released by DreamWorks Records. It was Michael's first studio album since 1990's Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 – the five-and-a-half-year gap was due to the legal battle that Michael experienced with his former record company Sony Music. Michael dedicated three years to the recording of Older, and the album found him exploring new musical territories in a more serious fashion compared to his previous work.
"Praying for Time" is a song written and performed by English singer and songwriter George Michael, released on Epic Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States in 1990. It was the first single from his second studio album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990), spending one week at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Michael's eighth number one in the US and his last solo single to reach the top of the Hot 100. "Praying for Time" also reached number one in Canada for two weeks, becoming Michael's penultimate number-one solo hit there.
"Heal the Pain" is a song written and performed by English singer-songwriter George Michael and released on Epic Records in February 1991. A contemplative, acoustic guitar-based love song, it was the fourth of five UK singles taken from his second solo album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990).
"Cowboys and Angels" is a song written and performed by English singer-songwriter George Michael, released on Epic Records in March 1991 as the fifth single from his second solo album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990). The song became the first single released by Michael to miss the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 45. The album was released in the UK on 3 September and in the US on 11 September; each single had finished lower than its predecessor and "Cowboys and Angels" continued the pattern, although the other four had all reached the threshold of the top 40. It was also Michael's longest single to date, at 7 minutes 14 seconds. The saxophone solo is by Andy Hamilton and the song is notable for being written in waltz time.
"Outside" is a song by English singer-songwriter George Michael, released on 19 October 1998 as the lead single from his first greatest hits album, Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael (1998). It was released through Epic Records and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Michael's most recent UK top-three hit. In Greece, Hungary, and Spain, the song peaked at number one. The song's music video, directed by Vaughan Arnell, shows couples of various sexual orientations engaging in lewd public activities while Michael, dressed as a police officer, dances in a public toilet, referencing his arrest for cottaging in April 1998.
"Fastlove" is a song by English singer-songwriter George Michael, released on 22 April 1996 by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom and by DreamWorks Records in the United States as the second single from his third album, Older (1996). Written by Michael, Patrice Rushen, Freddie Washington and Terri McFaddin and produced by Michael and Jon Douglas, the song interpolates Rushen's 1982 single "Forget Me Nots".
"Too Funky" is a song written and performed by English singer and songwriter George Michael and released by Columbia Records in the United States and Epic Records elsewhere in 1992. The song was Michael's final single for his recording contract with Sony Music before he started legal action to extricate himself from it.
"Jam" is a song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released in July 1992 by Epic as the fourth single from his eighth album, Dangerous (1991), where it is the opening track. It also appears as the second track on his 2009 This Is It compilation album. The single was re-released in 2006 as part of Jackson's Visionary: The Video Singles collection campaign, and it was remixed to the Cirque du Soleil's Immortal World Tour, releasing that remix on the soundtrack album. "Jam" is a new jack swing song whose bridge features a rap verse performed by Heavy D. The music video of the song featured NBA basketball legend Michael Jordan. The song was also featured on the Chicago Bulls 's 1992 NBA Championship video "Untouchabulls" and was also used in many promotional ads of the NBA in the said season. The single peaked at number 26 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart in 2006, reaching number 22.
English singer-songwriter George Michael's releases consist of five studio albums, two compilation albums, one extended play, 44 singles, six promotional singles, 36 music videos, and five video albums. In his career, Michael sold an estimated 100 million to 125 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling artists of all time.
"Free Your Mind" is a song by American female group En Vogue from their second album, Funky Divas (1992). The track was composed and produced by Foster and McElroy. They were inspired by the Funkadelic song "Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow." The guitar and bass tracks for the song were written and recorded by San Francisco-based guitarist Jinx Jones. The opening line: "Prejudice, wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it go!", is adapted from a line originally used by David Alan Grier's character Calhoun Tubbs from Fox's In Living Color.
"I've Been Thinking About You" is a song by British-American band Londonbeat, released as the lead single from their second studio album, In the Blood (1990). The song was produced by Martyn Phillips, and written by band members Jimmy Chambers, George Chandler, Jimmy Helms, and William Henshall. It became a major worldwide hit, reaching the number-one spot in more than 10 countries—including Australia, Canada, Germany and the United States—and peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart.
"Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first released by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed by Epic Records. The performers on the recording included lead singer Parissi, electric guitarist Bryan Bassett, bassist Allen Wentz, and drummer Ron Beitle, with session players Chuck Berginc, Jack Brndiar (trumpets), and Joe Eckert and Rick Singer (saxes) on the horn riff that runs throughout the song's verses. The single hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 18, 1976; it was also No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of over 2 million records and eventually sold 2.5 million in the United States alone.
"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin. It was originally recorded by John for his eighth studio album, Caribou (1974), and was released as a single that peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Mother's Pride" is a song written and performed by George Michael from the album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, released in 1990. It was released as the US B-side to the single "Waiting for That Day".
"Fantasy" is a song by the English singer-songwriter George Michael. It was first released in 1990 as the B-side of his single "Waiting for That Day". On 7 September 2017, a new version reworked by Nile Rodgers was released as a single from Listen Without Prejudice / MTV Unplugged (2017). The single was released posthumously, more than eight months after Michael's death on 25 December 2016.
