William Shatner’s words, earlier today, may be the
most poignant thus far. Upon hearing of the passing of George Michael, who died
aged 53 of heart failure, the Star Trek actor took to social media to say “Is
this year over yet? Too many people are passing away. Rest In Peace, George
Michael.” The music icon was probably Britain’s biggest pop star of the 1980s,
through the pop duo Wham! as well as through his solo career. After Wham! made
their mark with the single Young Guns (Go for It) in 1982, Michael’s
song-writing brought them even bigger hits, making them the focal point of the
80s boom in British pop music, along with Culture Club and Duran Duran.
The pop superstar who
was famous for songs like Last Christmas, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and
Careless Whisper, and had sold more than 100 million albums, being adored the
world over, in the process. There is no exception to this rule closer to home
either, as Michael D’Souza, a member of popular Goan band, Tidal Wave will
attest to. “I think that a lot of his songs transcend the boundary of age and
‘generations’. There are plenty of people who love dancing to his music, and
many of them certainly weren’t in their teens when Wham was all the rage. It’s
a sign of just how recognisable his music is, really,” says Michael, whose band
plays a number of George Michael songs to an adulating crowd, as a part of
their repertoire.
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And his music transcended boundaries, blurring the lines between
pop and more ‘refined’ genres, such as jazz. This was solidified by his 1999
cover of the iconic ‘Roxanne’ originally recorded by The Police. “George
Michael was someone who turned into a music icon, without even trying. All he
did was produce songs that were close to his heart, and the world did the rest
for him. He will be remembered most for his song, ‘Careless Whisper’; but for
me it was ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’; another one of his hits, that I
enjoyed covering the most, simply because it had a flying bass line. George
leaves behind a huge void in commercial pop, as artists like him are
increasingly rare to find in the current world of pop music,” assets Goa’s jazz
hall-of-famer, Colin D’Cruz.
And his music wasn’t just for musicians either. Who says that
the lay man doesn’t love belting out a song or two from his repertoire? “George
Michael’s music is absolutely timeless, as is witnessed to this day at a lot of
the karaoke gigs that I handle. From ‘Careless Whisper’, to ‘Wake Me Up Before
You Go Go’, to ‘Last Christmas’, the list goes on. Even though he hadn’t worked
on anything as impacting in more recent times, his classics lived on through
the years, and I’m sure that they will continue to do so, after his death,”
shares karaoke entrepreneur, Ashly Fernandes, of The Ka3aoke Co.
Dunstan Dias, a session musician who is a drum virtuoso, points
out that in death, George Michael could well be immortalised at a local level,
as while people are already in sync with his work, they could be tributes in
the playlist offing. “In Goa at least he was one of those voices that everyone
just loved and kept listening to. ‘Last Christmas’ and ‘Wake Me Up Before You
Go-Go’ are those songs that all local artists and older generations keep going
back to. I don’t think his passing will affect the local music industry in any
way, other than maybe play a few of his songs as a tribute to his work,” he
believes.
There’s no doubt that
his loss will be felt just like others who have passed before him, this year.
George Michael inspired many, and now to quote his own lyrics, one can but hope
that he may have found his Freedom, and Faith. It may have been his Last
Christmas, but it’s far from the last time that his music will ring true.
