"I still believe that music is one of the greatest gifts that God gave to man."

• Born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou on June 25, 1963, in London, England. Died Dec. 25, 2016
   
• George Michael first broke through with the duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley. Their 1984 album, Make It Big, hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spawned three No. 1 singles: "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," "Careless Whisper" and "Everything She Wants." As a solo artist, Michael scored his first No. 1 hit with "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)," a duet with Aretha Franklin. His debut solo album, 1987's Faith, hit No. 1.
   
• The singer/songwriter won his first career GRAMMY for 1987 for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" with Franklin. 

• Did you know? Michael earned 10 No. 1 hits throughout his career, including four — "Faith," "Father Figure," "One More Try," and "Monkey" — from Faith.

• Adele performed "Fastlove" in tribute to Michael on the 59th GRAMMY Awards in 2017.   

• Michael supported a variety of charities throughout his career, including the AIDS charity Sidaction, Red Hot Organization and Childline.