Exclusive Audio: R.E.M. on Earliest Influences

Before tonight's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck joined us in our offices to reminisce about the past, talk about influences and give us some insight into the band's future. We felt bad we couldn't fit all of you in the room, so we're doing the next best thing and sharing a handful of audio highlights from the interview:

Michael Stipe talks about how he feels about The Beatles.

On the band's love of Velvet Underground and Patti Smith.

Michael Stipe admitting the lyrics on the first two albums were "nonsense."

Find out the band's favorite new music and what Michael Stipe thinks is "best record of the last seven years."

On being chosen as Rolling Stone's Album of the Year in 1983, over Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Can't get enough R.E.M.? Check out what the band thinks about key albums from their extensive discography. And be sure to catch them tonight on VH1 Classic at 8:30 P.M. as Eddie Vedder inducts the boys from Athens, Georgia, into The House That Rock Built.

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  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
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  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
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  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
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  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

More Song Stories entries »

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