For the first time in 17 years, the original members of R.E.M. performed together during Thursday night’s (6.13) Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony.
At the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel, frontman Michael Stipe reunited with his former bandmates Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction.
While the iconic rockers had previously joked that it would take “a comet” to get them to perform together again, R.E.M. celebrated their induction with a surprise acoustic rendition of their classic ‘Losing My Religion.’ “We are R.E.M. And this is what we did,” Stipe said before singing their 1991 hit.
It was in 1997 that Berry left the group two years after suffering a brain aneurysm while performing on stage. He last re-joined the band in 2007 when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the remaining trio called it quits in 2011.
During his the acceptance speech, Stipe said “Writing songs and having a catalogue of work that we’re all proud of that is out there for the rest of the world for all time is hands-down the most important aspect of what we did.” “Second to that is that we managed to do so all those decades and remain friends. And not just friends, dear friends.”
In addition to R.E.M, this year’s inductees included Timbaland, Hillary Lindsey, Steely Dan and Dean Pitchford. SZA was honored with the Hal David Starlight Award, while Diane Warren received the Johnny Mercer Award.
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Author: Saul Goode