The One I Love
R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck’s ringing, arpeggiated guitar playing, Stipe’s distinctive vocal style, unique stage presence and cryptic lyrics, Mills’s melodic bass lines and backing vocals, and Berry’s tight, economical drumming. In the early 1990s, other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana, Pixies and Pavement named R.E.M. as a pioneer of the genre. After Berry left in 1997 due to severe health issues, the remaining members continued with mixed critical and commercial success. The band broke up amicably in 2011, having sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world’s best-selling music acts.
The band released their first single, “Radio Free Europe“, in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. It was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, their first release on I.R.S. Records. Over the course of the decade, R.E.M. released acclaimed albums, commencing with their debut Murmur (1983), and continuing yearly with Reckoning (1984), Fables of the Reconstruction (1985), Lifes Rich Pageant (1986), Document (1987) and Green (1988). During their most successful period, they worked with the producer Scott Litt. With constant touring, and the support of college radio following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit with the 1987 single “The One I Love“. They signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to espouse political and environmental concerns while playing arenas worldwide.
