George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, June 25, 1963 – December 25, 2016) was an English dance-pop musician of Greek and Jewish ancestry. He began his career as a member of the pop duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgley in 1981. Together, they produced a string of hits, including "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," “Everything She Wants,” “Careless Whisper,” and the holiday classic, "Last Christmas." After parting ways with Wham! in 1986, George Michael became one of the best-selling artists in history with at least 100 million albums sold worldwide. During his prolific career, he released five albums, four of which reached the top spot in the UK and several chart-topping hits with some of the world’s other biggest artists, including “I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)” (with Aretha Franklin), “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (with Elton John), and “Somebody to Love” (with Queen). George Michael passed away on December 25, 2016, at the age of 53 of natural causes.