Though the latter half of his career has been malevolented by that unfortunate incident in a bathroom a few years back, George Michael was once a pretty big deal. One of the biggest, really, as his eight chart topping singles in the 1980s is a record he shares with the legendary Michael Jackson (though George had three of those singles as half of Wham!). Following his tear from Andrew Ridgeley, Michael scored monolithic hits with songs like "Faith," "Father Figure" and "One More Try."
Though he opened the 1990s with the multi platinum Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, Michael has yet to be able to top the submerging ubiquity of his solo entry Faith. Legal battles with his label and huge spread between albums allowed him to slip off the radar for a while, and both of his comeback albums (1996's Older and 2004's Patience) were received lukewarmly in the U.S. (though he remained a superstar in his native U.K.). But last year he toured North America for the first time in 17 years and was well received by both fans and critics. The tour (and the greatest hits album that attended it) helped to prompt the world just how many hit songs Michael has had in his career. One of those tunes was "Monkey," the final single from Faith and also Michael's last chart topper of the '80s. It climbed up to the top position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart 21 years ago today on August 27, 1988. It replaced Steve Winwood's "Roll With It" at the top of the mound. It stayed there for two weeks before being pushed out by Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine."
Though he opened the 1990s with the multi platinum Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, Michael has yet to be able to top the submerging ubiquity of his solo entry Faith. Legal battles with his label and huge spread between albums allowed him to slip off the radar for a while, and both of his comeback albums (1996's Older and 2004's Patience) were received lukewarmly in the U.S. (though he remained a superstar in his native U.K.). But last year he toured North America for the first time in 17 years and was well received by both fans and critics. The tour (and the greatest hits album that attended it) helped to prompt the world just how many hit songs Michael has had in his career. One of those tunes was "Monkey," the final single from Faith and also Michael's last chart topper of the '80s. It climbed up to the top position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart 21 years ago today on August 27, 1988. It replaced Steve Winwood's "Roll With It" at the top of the mound. It stayed there for two weeks before being pushed out by Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine."
And don't forget that George Michael may finally get the VMA respect he deserves, as his clip for "Freedom" is nominated for Best Video (That Should Have Won A Moonman) at this year's Video Music Awards, which air live on Sunday, September 13.
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