Episode 60: Chris Molanphy on George Michael’s “Faith” (1987)

Episode notes

The Album: George Michael: Faith (1987)

In the fall of 1987, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that George Michael’s solo debut, Faith, would be a hit. As successful as Michael had been as half of the Wham! duo, going solo was always going to be a risk but as it turns out, it was one worth taking. Faith turned out to be a runaway hit, not simply a #1 album but spawning four different #1 singles, including the lively title song which became the best-selling song of 1988 in the U.S.

It wasn’t without controversy however, especially with conservative outcries against the song, “I Want Your Sex,” and its video for being too racy or explicit, all the while Michael, as we learned later, was insinuating hints about his own changing sexual identity into different verses. These were all topics of discussion that came up with our guest, Chris Molanphy, creator and host of the Hit Parade podcast which analyzes chart histories to provide incredibly in-depth discussions about pop music. Chris takes on the sometimes arcane peculiarities of music charts and uses them as a way to jump into far broader discussions about pop trends, figures and transformations. Chris had previous taped an episode of Hit Parade devoted to the parallel careers of Michael and Elton John and he brought that wealth of knowledge to our conversation.

More on Chris Molanphy

• “Commerce Vs. Consumption: A Revolutionary Rethink Of Billboard’s Album Chart” (NPR’s The Record)
• Pitchfork portfolio
• Website | Twitter

More on Faith

• “‘Keeping the ‘Faith’: Six Writers Remember the Six Classic Hit Singles From George Michael’s 30-Year-Old Debut” (Billboard)
• “30 Years Ago: George Michael Goes Solo on ‘Faith’” (Diffuser)
• Molanphy’s article “Keanu and the Remarkable Chart History of George Michael, “Black” Music Star” (Slate)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Faith unless indicated otherwise):

• I Want Your Sex (Parts I & II)
• Wham!: Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
• George Michael: Careless Whisper
• Hard Day
• Father Figure
• I Want Your Sex (Parts I & II)
• Sinead O’Connor: Nothing Compares 2 U
• One More Try
• Hard Day (Shep Pettibone Remix)
• Hard Day
• Kissing A Fool
• Father Figure
• Hand to Mouth
• Limp Bizkit: Faith
• Faith
• Estelle: No Substitute Love
• Kissing A Fool

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

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