American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980. Classic lineup: Michael Stipe (vocals), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass/vocals), and Bill Berry (drums, 1980-1997). Foundational to the development of alternative rock and college radio in the 1980s before crossing to mainstream success in the 1990s.
Fifteen studio albums between Murmur (1983) and Collapse into Now (2011). Commercial peak: Out of Time (1991), Automatic for the People (1992), and Monster (1994). Berry retired in 1997 after a brain aneurysm; the band continued as a trio. R.E.M. formally disbanded in 2011. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
