One by-product of Billboard including streaming in its chart calculations, in addition to sales and radio play, is the proliferation of Christmas songs in the top ten each December.
Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want is Christmas is You‘ is perhaps the most notable example, as the song reclaims the #1 spot eery year, and this year became the song with the most weeks at #1 in history (20).
The week of February 16, 1985, gave us a classic pop hit, with Wham!’s ‘Careless Whisper’ spending its first of three weeks at #1.
The song was credited in the U.S. to “Wham! featuring George Michael” and in the UK to Michael as a solo artist, but it appeared on the duo’s sophomore album, Make It Big, and was released as that record’s second single. Interestingly, it was the only song on that album co-written by Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, yet it was the one attributed to Michael as a solo performer.
My 12-year-old self never appreciated Wham! back in 1984 when they were one of the biggest things in music. I dismissed them as bubblegum pop, unworthy of serious consideration, even before I started regularly seeking out and listening to music.
I held the same opinion of Wham! as I discovered George Michael’s Faith (1987) and Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990), two albums of sophisticated songcraft that I loved and took as a sign that Michael had put aside his embarrassing past to become one of pop’s great artists.
That’s right… I’m not playing around here.
You asked for it and you’re getting it. And don’t bother with the Joni Mitchell requests… no room for over-achievers. This week is one inch deep and a mile wide.
I remember being shocked when Wham! shed their pretty boy image and went all dark and leathery. The guys prancing around in this video were so feathery soft they were in danger of floating up to the ceiling. Watching this, it’s amazing there was a time people doubted George Michael was gay.
Meet Me In Montauk 