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It seems like only yesterday that we first saw George Michael prop his silver-tipped boot on a jukebox, turn his blue-jeaned posterior to the camera and cause hysterics.

But believe it or not, it was 1987 — an innocent time in music when the word "sex" in his hit "I Want Your Sex" was bleeped out. And a close-up on a fully clothed posterior, shaking, could cause hysteria.

Matt Sayles/AP (ENLARGE)
George Michael, touring the United States for the first time in 17 years, says he is 'rounding off' the first phase of his career.
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CONCERT PREVIEW George Michael. $47-$152. 8 p.m. July 31 at Philips Arena, 1 Philips Drive, Atlanta. 404-249-6400, www.ticketmaster.com. RELATED LINKS: • Blog: Atlanta Music Scene • Summer Music Guide • CD reviews • Find a concert

Since then one of the most well-coifed men in pop music has seen his superstar-size recording career go poof, his personal life go tabloid — and yet, the man can still come back and tour arenas.

Curious as to how? Why?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, here are some of the more memorable George Michael Hits, Misses and Mischiefs:

• 1984: After a start in the loosely ska ensemble the Executive, and a turn at even looser hip-hop ("Wham Rap!"), U.K. twosome Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou and Andrew Ridgeley release a second major-label CD the United States finally pays attention to: "Make It Big."

(It also involved the first of many fashion statements that Panayiotou, a.k.a. George Michael, would make. Luckily, those Choose Life T-shirts and Richard Simmons short-shorts didn't last long.)

The 38-minute, 2-second pop confection was led by "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," highlighted by the ballad "Careless Whisper" and included the hidden beauty, "Like a Baby."

• May 4, 1985: "Motown Returns to the Apollo [Theater]," where Michael makes his soul power apparent when he joins the legendary Stevie Wonder on "Love's in Need of Love Today."

(And there was little surprise after that that Michael could go note for note with Queen Aretha two years later on her single, "I Knew You Were Waiting for Me.")

• 1986: Just like that, Wham! was over. And what an adieu — after one more disc together ("Music From the Edge of Heaven") and a couple of additions to their hit parade ("I'm Your Man," "A Different Corner"), the pair performed their last show together in front of 72,000 people at Wembley Stadium.

• 1987: When he released "Careless Whisper" on our shores under "George Michael of Wham!" we should have had a clue the solo pursuit was coming. But who knew it would be so big?

Michael's CD "Faith" moved more than 7 million units on our shores alone. And "Hand to Mouth" may have been the only track of the 11 that wasn't released as a B-side, club single, something.

• August 1990: "Listen Without Prejudice," Michael insisted in the title of his follow-up. And saleswise, it appeared audiences declined to listen at all. Michael blamed the relatively poor response on his label and demanded a release. Legal entanglements ensued.

(But hey, he did have a hand in introducing the world to today's model-media phenom, Tyra Banks, who was featured in the video for the single "Freedom." )

• 1992: Finally! Maybe the first fun record from Michael since his "Faith" CD. Funny thing is, he donated "Too Funky" to the "Red Hot + Dance" charity CD.

• April 1996: After losing a lawsuit with his label, Michael bought himself out of the contract and inked a deal with DreamWorks. On that imprint he released "Older." Remember the response to "Listen"? Well, it was even more muted to this.

(And you know, "Fastlove" was actually a cool song.)

• April 7, 1998: Michael is arrested for performing a lewd act in front of a male undercover police officer in a park restroom. Shortly afterward he reveals that he's gay. And shortly after that he made fun of it all with the single "Outside" as well as its video.

"I'd service the community, but I already have, you see," he said on the dance tune. (A reference to being sentenced to community service, perhaps? He also was fined $810.) And in the video, urinals turned into disco balls.

• May 2004: The last CD of original music from Michael was released in the States, minus an anti-Bush/Blair track titled "Shoot the Dog" on the U.K. version.

• March 2008: Michael announces he'll tour the United States for the first time in 17 years. Why? He sees this as "rounding off" the first phase of his career, he told USA Today. "I don't want to do anything on this scale again. ... No more stadiums. I'd like to be the Tony Bennett of my generation."