"Careless Whisper" is a song by English singer-songwriter George Michael (sometimes credited to "Wham! featuring George Michael" in Japan, Canada and the United States). It was released on 24 July 1984, by Epic Records in the United Kingdom, Japan and other countries, and by Columbia Records in North America. The song was George Michael's first solo single, although he was still performing in Wham! at the time (the song is included on Wham!'s album Make It Big).

The song features a prominent saxophone riff, and has been covered by a number of artists since its first release. It was released as a single and became a huge commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic and on both sides of the Pacific. It reached number one in nearly 25 countries, selling about six million copies worldwide – two million of them in the United States.

Unlike most of the other Wham! singles (except "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" and "Club Tropicana"), it was co-written by Andrew Ridgeley, the other member of the duo. The two had written it together as developing artists three years earlier in Watford, England.

The song went through at least two rounds of production. The first was during a trip Michael made to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he went to work with producer Jerry Wexler at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Michael was unhappy with the version that was originally produced and decided to re-record and produce the song himself, this time coming up with the version that was finally released. The version Wexler produced, was released later in the year, as a (4:41) B-side "Special Version" on 12" in the UK and Japan.

The record label Innervision were going to put out the Jerry Wexler version of "Careless Whisper" after the Club Fantastic Megamix as far back as 1983. Dick Leahy stated in George Michael's autobiography that while he couldn't stop the release of the Club Fantastic Megamix, he could stop the release of this single on the basis that as a publisher they "have the right to grant the first license of the recording of a tune of which he controls the copyright". He couldn't do anything about the Club Fantastic Megamix because it was already released material. He said: "We knew how big that song could be so it was necessary to upset a few people to stop it."

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