Read this beautiful letter Frank Sinatra wrote to George Michael

Singer George Michael had "wanted to be a pop star since I was about 7 years old," but you have to be careful what you wish for. Michael was rocketed to fame at 21 when Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" flew up the charts and he publicly balked at the cost of celebrity. "I'm ... sure that most people find it hard to believe that stardom can make you miserable," Michael told The Los Angeles Times in 1990, giving similar statements to several other publications. "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."

Frank Sinatra — who himself once tried to wave off fame — set Michael straight in a humbling letter. "Come on, George," Sinatra 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."

Michael died at his home in Goring, England, on Christmas, at the age of 53.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up