The day Frank Sinatra scolded George Michael: “Loosen up. Swing, man”
George Michael very much got what he wished for, but it came at a price that arguably derailed the course of his life.
He had dreamed about becoming a pop star since he was a child, and to all intents and purposes, with him achieving that by the age of 18, he probably thought his road was set. But the world had other plans. Over such a short space of time retrospectively, things got bigger, and bigger, then bigger still, until he just couldn’t handle it.
What felt like moments after he had just been a mere schoolboy, Michael was one of the biggest celebrities in the world, and it was almost as though he didn’t realise what the repercussions of that would be until they were actually happening. Suddenly, he had no time to himself. Work was constant and unforgiving. Privacy? What was that?
It was understandable why he struggled to cope with that, as the star who presented himself as a symbol of charisma and sex appeal was a gargantuan figure to which the real Georgios Panayiotou paled in comparison. That man was shy and reserved, terrified of the beast he had created, and perpetually forced to slip into the mask time and time again.
In normal circumstances, that would justifiably elicit sympathy for Michael, especially in the sad context of his premature passing ten years ago. But in many ways, it was a damning testament to the industry he seemingly hated so much that he would rarely find this among his fellow stars, particularly those who had made it into a similar transcendent league.
Seeing Michael somewhat spiral and lament the lost, private part of his life forced Frank Sinatra, of all people, to his pen and paper. Writing the pop juggernaut an open letter in 1990, in response to a fateful LA Times interview, The Chairman of the Board said. “Now that he’s a smash performer and songwriter at 27, he wants to quit doing what tons of gifted youngsters all over the world would shoot grandma for — just one crack at what he’s complaining about.”
Yet despite the apparent criticism, Sinatra also had some searing words of advice. “Come on, George,” he urged. “Loosen up. Swing, man. Dust off those gossamer wings and fly yourself to the moon of your choice and be grateful to carry the baggage we’ve all had to carry since those lean nights of sleeping on buses and helping the driver unload the instruments.”
Who’s to say whether Michael took those sage teachings to heart, but certainly coming from someone as prolific as Sinatra, they carried a hell of a lot of weight. From one global megastar to another, he was trying to tell his young Wham counterpart to lighten up and enjoy the ride. But having said that, when the weight of the world feels like it’s on your shoulders, that’s sometimes easier said than done.
So they went their separate ways, only ever having that one memorable interaction, but with the reverberations being felt all the while through everything that was left for them to complete in their respective lifetimes. Michael still always struggled to get to grips with fame, but he perhaps did so from that point forward with Sinatra’s words ringing in his ears.
