Frank Sinatra’s Advice to a Young George Michael

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Twenty years ago, George Michael was struggling with the aftermath of fame — “I’m not stupid enough to think that I can deal with another 10 or 15 years of major exposure,” Mr. Michael said in a 1990 story with the Los Angeles Times’ Calendar magazine. “I think that is the ultimate tragedy of fame… People who are simply out of control, who are lost. I’ve seen so many of them, and I don’t want to be another cliché.”

But Frank Sinatra wasn’t buying it. In fact, he wrote a letter that appeared in the LA Times that week basically telling the then-young singer to lighten up:

“Come on, George,” Frank wrote. “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… 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.” He later added, “Trust me. I’ve been there.”

We think it’s safe to say George followed his advice.

RIP to both these great men.

Frank Sinatra George Michael