Wham! was an English pop duo that set the 80s on fire with a string of 7 consecutive Top 10 hits, the first three being the #1 smashes "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," "Careless Whisper," and "Everything She Wants." Their success made them the 5th most successful chart artist of the 80s. With George Michael being the major songwriting and vocal talent behind the duo with Andrew Ridgeley, it was perhaps inevitable that he'd soon depart for a solo career by 1986. Their last chart entry as Wham! seemed destined to be "Where Did Your Heart Go?" which peaked at #50 that year. However, their holiday hit "Last Christmas," recorded in 1984, has charted in multiple years and shows no sign of stopping that trend. The highest it climbed to date was #25 in 1997, and it matched this position again in 2018. Michael went on to have a legendary but truncated solo career. He died in 2016 at the age of 53. In 2017, Wham! appeared on the charts again when "Careless Whisper" returned to hit #33. "Heartbeat" goes back to the band's breakthrough album, "Make It Big." It is a great pop tune that was overshadowed by the many hits on this album.
Chicago native Jody Watley was on fire in the late 80s. The former dancer on Soul Train and vocalist for Shalamar scored a #2 smash hit in 1987 with her first solo single, "Looking For A New Love." Two additional Top 10 hits would follow from her self-titled debut album: "Don't You Want Me" (#6) and "Some Kind Of Lover" (#10). Her sophomore effort, 1989's "Larger Than Life," kept the hits coming with three more reaching the Top 10, including "Real Love" (#2), "Friends" (#9), and "Everything" (#4). Watley's hot streak then came to an abrupt end, save a minor hit in 1992 when "I'm The One You Need" landed at #19. Her debut record yielded plenty of hits, but it is still surprising that "Learn To Say No," which features another superstar, George Michael, isn't more widely known. It is a great team effort by two of the 80s biggest talents that deserves more attention.
The legendary band Queen, fronted by the unforgettable Freddie Mercury, scored a string of hits that included two #1's: "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" spent four weeks at the top and "Another One Bites The Dust" spent three weeks there. Another one of their classics, "Bohemian Rhapsody," made multiple appearances as new audiences discovered its unique awesomeness. It became the band's first top 10 hit in 1976 when it reached #9, but thanks to being featured in the movie Wayne's World in 1992, it roared back and peaked at #2. It returned once again in 2018-2019 to hit #33 after the movie of the same name was released. Queen had their biggest successes in the 70s and 80s, but still scored a handful of hits in the 90s thanks to "Bohemian Rhapsody" and a duet with George Michael, "Somebody To Love," that hit #30 in 1993. "We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions" also made a dual appearance - originally hitting #4 in 1977 and hitting #52 in 1992. Queen did not re-chart in the 2000s, but as mentioned, returned in the 2010s with "Bohemian Rhapsody." Who's to say whether we've heard the last of Queen on the charts? There's a lot of mastery in Queen's impressive catalogue, but I am particularly moved by their fourteenth record from 1991, "Innuendo." Mercury was succumbing to AIDS during its writing and recording, but he still delivers a stellar performance. One of the best is "Don't Try So Hard," on which Mercury offers some sage advice in (mostly) falsetto in a gentle ballad that contains bursts of trademark guitar from Brian May. Also don't overlook the video for "These Are The Days Of Our Lives," the final one Mercury completed before his death in late 1991 at age 45. His sincerity at the end when he whispers, "I still love you" will break you. We still love you, too, Freddie.
Most of what George Michael released in his heyday easily had instant chart success, so there isn't too much from his prolific era to highlight that is "off the chart." Capitalizing on the success he had in Wham!, Michael's solo career made him the 5th most successful artist of the 80s. The 90s weren't too shabby to him, either, as he managed to maintain a healthy chart presence to be the 33rd most successful artist in the 1990s. His masterpiece album, "Faith," spawned four #1 hits and two more top 10s, but the monster success left Michael struggling with artistic identity. Wanting to be taken more seriously as a songwriter, Michael did a complete 180 with his follow up, 1990's "Listen Without Prejudice, Vol I." (There was a Vol. II but it was abandoned for reasons that remain unknown.) On "Listen," Michael left the catchy pop and dance music behind and focused more on acoustic guitars and piano. The lyrics were more thoughtful and surprisingly darker. While vastly different than its predecessor, the album produced two top 10 hits ("Praying For Time" hit #1 and "Freedom" hit #8) and 2 more top 40 hits: "Waiting For That Day" reached #27 and the haunting "Mother's Pride" (one of Michael's strongest compositions in my opinion) hit #46. "Something To Save" is an underrated cut from "Listen" that didn't chart. A simple piece featuring voice and guitar, the song lets his raw talent shine. Michael would hit the top again soon enough one last time: his cover (and duet) of Elton John's hit, "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" was #1 in 1992. His last chart appearance occurred in 1996 when "Jesus To A Child" and "Fastlove" hit #7 and #8, respectively. Then he faded from the limelight, largely by choice of not wanting to perform as frequently. Sadly, Michael passed away from heart failure on Christmas Day in 2016 at 53 years old. His amazing voice and songwriting legacy endures, and he is currently ranked as the 49th most successful artist of all-time.
