R.E.M. charted with “Losing My Religion”

Losing My Religion R.E.M.

Writer(s): Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe (see lyrics here) Released: February 19, 1991 First Charted: March 9, 1991 Peak: 4 US, 6 CB, 3GR, 4 RR, 28 AC, 13 AR, 18 MR, 19 UK, 6 CN, 11 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.5 US, 0.6 UK, 2.1 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 1261.02 video, 1363.23 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “With a jangly-guitar sound that was equal parts rock and folk, cryptic yet compelling lyrics, and the quirky charisma of lead singer Michael Stipe, R.E.M. steadily built a cult following until their 1987 breakthrough” SS with top-10 hit “The One I Love.” However, the song that became the band’s biggest hit happened four years later. “Alternative rock as a genre remained on the fringes throughout” MM the 1980s but “Losing My Religion” was a turning point in that it “primed the market for grunge’s breakout…and created a model for…independent rock bands that strive to succeed without selling out.” MM It was a “morose ballad dominated by a mandolin,” TB not exactly the record label’s choice for a lead single. MM The instrument’s “very distinctive sound and emotional quality grabs listeners immediately.” SS Peter Buck, the band’s guitarist, started playing around with the instrument afer 1987’s Document and used it to write two songs for the 1988 Green album. He came up with some other chords that he hung onto until the band went into the studio to record Out of Time. That was the basis of “Losing My Religion.” MM On top of that, “Stipe’s beautiful, yearning voice sings about indecision and regret and fear in an abstract lyric.” TC Stipe said, “I wanted to write an unrequited love song, like the Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take.’…I wanted it to be unclear whether the relationship in the song was real or a figment of the protagonist’s imagination. I created a character so shy and insecure that he questions every one of his moves and choices.” MM The phrase “losing my religion” is used in the South that refers to losing one’s temper or being at the end of one’s rope. The Times, a UK publication, called it “the first existential pop song ever to make the American Top 10.” HL Warner Bros., R.E.M.’s record label, was not sold on releasing such an “unconventional track” as the first single WK in support of the group’s 1991 album, Out of Time. Stipe himself said, “There’s no chorus, there’s no guitar, it’s five minutes long, it’s a fucking mandolin song. What kind of pop song is that?” TC However, the company got the song established via a “critically-acclaimed music video,” WK and airplay on modern rock and album rock radio stations before promoting it to mainstream radio. One Top 40 radio station director said, “the record crosses the boundaries of being just an alternative record.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for R.E.M. TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Page 143. HL Michael Heatley and Spencer Leigh (1998). Behind the Song: The Stories of 100 Great Pop & Rock Classics. Blandford Books: London, UK. Page 118. MM Marc Myers (2016). Anatomy of a Song. Grove Press: New York, NY. Pages 317-23. RS500 RollingStone.com (4/7/2011). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 146-7. DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 31. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 249. WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 6/19/2024.