Whatever else one might say about George Michael, nobody can deny that the man possesses a phoenix-like ability to rise from the ashes. After sustaining a spectacularly successful career in the '80s, the singer hit on relatively hard times in the '90s, in part because of an unfortunate arrest in Los Angeles. Nonetheless, the coming millennium promises to herald a strong comeback for the former pop idol, his ludicrous recent troubles notwithstanding 

Born June 25, 1963, Michael (whose given name is Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou) grew up in a small north London suburb, where his father owned and operated a restaurant. While attending grade school, Michael met fellow music lover Andrew Ridgeley, and the two forged a friendship that was sustained into adolescence. In 1981, while working multiple jobs that included restaurant disc jockey, cinema usher, and construction worker, Michael teamed with Ridgeley to form a ska-based band called The Executive. The Executive proved to be short-lived, but in its aftermath, Michael and Ridgeley threw themselves even more deeply into music. The two quickly settled on the concept of a duo, which they dubbed Wham!, and began writing songs and making demo tapes. They released a singles in 1982: "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)," and "Young Guns (Go for It)." The latter song became a Top 10 U.K. hit, and the duo's follow-up debut album, Fantastic, entered the U.K. pop charts at No. 1. Wham signed up with Sony's Epic Records. The duo's next release, Make It Big, topped the U.S. charts and ultimately sold more than 5 million copies. Two singles from the album, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Everything She Wants," hit No. 1 on the pop charts, while two others, "Freedom" and "I'm Your Man," topped out at No. 3. Foreshadowing events to come, Michael also released a solo single in 1984, a ballad titled "Careless Whisper," which became a No. 1 hit in both the U.K. and the U.S. In April 1985, the duo became the first major Western pop act to perform in the People's Republic of China.

 Later that same year, Wham! The Video earned the duo a Grammy nomination for Best Long-Form Video. He was also awarded the Ivor Novello Songwriter of the Year Award, an honor presented annually to "the greatest songwriter of his generation." Upon its release in 1986, the album hit No. 10 on the U.S. charts (two singles, "The Edge of Heaven" and "A Different Corner," reached No. 10 and No. 7, respectively),. Wham disbanded shortly after that. As a warm-up for what was to come, he recorded a duet with Aretha Franklin titled "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)," which shot to No. 1 on the R&B charts and later won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal.Evidencing immense talent and ambition (Michael once again wrote and produced all the songs himself), Faith boasted four No. 1 hits — "Faith," "Father Figure," "Monkey," and "One More Try" — and occupied the top of the charts for 12 weeks. The album also became the first ever by a white solo artist to reach No. 1 in Billboard's Black Album category, an accomplishment Michael considered at the time "the highlight of [his] career." Interestingly, it was a song that failed to hit the top of the charts that garnered Michael the most notoriety. Banned by a third of U.S. radio stations and permitted radio airplay in the U.K. only at night, "I Want Your Sex" .In the end, Faith became the best-selling album of 1987 and was named Album of the Year at the Grammy Ceremonies. Much to the surprise of his fans, the singer announced he would neither make videos nor do press promotion for his next release, 1990's Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. Nonetheless, the album reached No. 2 on the U.S. charts, and a video for the single, "Freedom" (which, in lieu of an appearance by Michael, featured models lip-synching the lyrics) became a ubiquitous presence on MTV. The following year, Michael released a live duet with Elton John (John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me") that scaled the charts. 

Michael continued to record sporadically throughout the early '90s, but his ability to work was hampered by a legal battle with his label, Sony Music. In June of 1994, a London court ruled in favor of Sony, a legal decision that prompted Michael to vow never to record again. Instead, after losing again on appeal, Michael bought his way out of his contract and signed with the Steven Spielberg-David Geffen upstart conglomerate, DreamWorks. A new album, titled Older, followed in 1996, On a brighter note, the year 2000 appears to hold great promise for Michael; this past summer he began work with noted producer Phil Ramone on a collection of cover songs titled Songs From the Last Century. Pursuant to the project, Michael left DreamWorks in November to sign with Virgin Records.