"Loosen up. Swing,Massage Parlor Prostitutes (2025) man."
Frank Sinatra had some very Frank Sinatra-like advice for a young George Michael, who had complained about fame in a 1990 interview with the Los Angeles Times' Calendarmagazine.
SEE ALSO: Details emerge of George Michael's many quiet acts of kindnessAfter George Michael's death, reported on Christmas day, people are sharing this open letter from Ol' Blue Eyes. It was printed in the same magazine a week after the interview. At the time, Michael was struggling under the weight of public expectations for his sophomore album, "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1."
Under this pressure, then 27-year-old Michael wanted to stay out of the limelight. He only agreed to do three interviews in the U.S., the LA Timesbeing one of them. He even refused to have his photo taken for the article.
In the interview, Michael addressed criticism that his shying away from the media was a gimmick.
"But I'm also sure that most people find it hard to believe that stardom can make you miserable. After all, everybody wants to be a star. I certainly did, and I worked hard to get it. But I was miserable, and I don't want to feel that way again," he said.
Sinatra certainly knew a thing or two about fame, and its struggles. He announced his retirement in 1971, only to go on after a hiatus and play 1,000 more shows. Sinatra died in 1998 at age 82.
Here's the letter, from the excellent @LettersofNote Twitter account.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
The full text:
FRANK SINATRA
September 9, 1990
Dear Friends,
When I saw your Calendar cover today about George Michael, "the reluctant pop star," my first reaction was he should thank the good Lord every morning when he wakes up to have all that he has., And that'll make two of us thanking God every morning for all that we have.
I don't understand a guy who lives "in hopes of reducing the strain of his celebrity status." Here's a kid who "wanted to be a pop star since I was about 7 years old." And 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.
Come on George, 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
And no more of that talk about "the tragedy of fame." The tragedy of fame is when no one shows up and you're singing to the cleaning lady in some empty joint that hasn't seen a paying customer since Saint Swithin's day. And you're nowhere near that; you're top dog on the top rung of a tall ladder called Stardom, which in latin means thanks-to-the-fans who were there when it was lonely.
Talent must not be wasted. Those who have it - and you obviously do or today's Calendar cover article would have been about Rudy Vallee - those who have talent must hug it, embrace it, nurture it and share it lest it be taken away from you as fast as it was loaned to you.
Trust me. I've been there.
(Signed, 'Frank Sinatra')
© 1990 Frank Sinatra
George Michael must have taken this advice to heart. While Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1indeed didn't sell as many copies as his first solo album, Faith-- it performed extremely well in the UK. He persevered despite legal and personal troubles in the '90s, to have a decades-long career.
The LA Timesinterview is well worth reading, if you're interested in knowing more about the era. In it we see how Michael correctly anticipated that music videos and touring was the way to success, and that's how he and Wham! conquered America.
The article also explains the star's struggle to be seen as a serious songwriter after finding such smash success as a "teenybopper."
R.I.P., George Michael.
Previous:The Pulitzer Problem
Next:London Falling
Thor's roomie Darryl made it out of 'Avengers: Infinity War' alive'Fallout 76': 6 nifty features revealed at QuakeCon 20183 things you can do to stop student lunch shaming'Doom Eternal': 5 big features revealed at QuakeCon 2018Lena Dunham sticks up for Taylor Swift after Kanye West's 'Famous' videoThe DNC just served Wikileaks with a lawsuit over TwitterJerry Seinfeld posts jokey Google Maps reviews for his Netflix seriesHackers can use your voicemail to take over your online accountsFacebook shuts down News Feed customization feature Friend List FeedsWho really wrote The Beatles song 'In My Life'? Math has the answer.Watch these FDNY EMTs get engaged at NYC PrideGoogle tracks you even if you turn off 'location history': reportSaudi Arabia might be interested in helping Tesla go privateWithings Body Cardio smart scale is as impressive as it is frustratingWhat happens when internet subcultures get discovered by the massesFirst photos of Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina the teenage witch: PhotosRobots ruin the fun of 'Where's Waldo?' with facial recognition: WatchApple and Facebook could be asked by Australia to build tools to get around encryptionApple's Group FaceTime won't arrive with iOS 12 and macOS MojavePresident Obama shares #LoveIsLove Pride message on Twitter The Morning News Roundup for November 13, 2014 The Morning News Roundup for November 17, 2014 On Unpleasantness and Emoji The Morning News Roundup for November 20, 2014 Sleep of the Just by Sadie Stein The Morning News Roundup for December 2, 2014 On This Day, William Tell Shot an Apple Off His Son’s Head A Microinterview with Nell Zink Douglas Coupland’s Gumhead A Marvelous Crutch: An Interview with Brad Zellar This Week’s Staff Picks Staff Picks: Garth Greenwell, Paul Ford, Forrest Gander, and More Staff Picks: Megg, Mogg, Maxim Maksimich by The Paris Review Preparation for the Next Life Winner of the American Book Award by Dan Piepenbring The Morning News Roundup for December 1, 2014 Once Upon a Potty Let’s All Go Down to the Bridge and Get Our Teeth Pulled by Dan Piepenbring Douglas Coupland on Marshall McLuhan by James Atlas Emily Dickinson’s Norway
1.6712s , 10125.109375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Massage Parlor Prostitutes (2025)】,Miracle Information Network