R.E.M. “Superman” charted

Superman R.E.M.

Writer(s): Gary Zekley, Mitchell Bottler (see lyrics here) First Charted: November 1, 1986 Peak: 17 AR, 19 CO, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2.8 video, 8.39 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: By the 1990s, R.E.M. achieved superstardom, thanks to Out of Time and Automatic for the People both achieving worldwide sales of 18 million. They’d first reached platinum status with their fifth album, 1987’s Document, thanks to the top-ten success of “The One I Love.” However, over their first four albums it didn’t look like the Athens, Georgia-based band would ever move much beyond its college rock audience. The band released their first single, “Radio Free Europe,” in 1981 and it could make a claim as the college rock anthem. After the 1983 release of their debut album Murmur, critics embraced them for their jangly pop and new folk-rock sound that defied categorization. Over the next three years they released Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction, and Life’s Rich Pageant. They definitely showed consistency – all four albums were gold sellers that peaked in the top 40 of the Billboard album chart. After releasing the top-10 album rock cut “Fall on Me,” R.E.M. followed up with “Superman,” the second single from the Life’s Rich Pageant album. While the band had released cover songs as B-sides of previous singles, this was the first time they released a cover as an A-side. The original was recorded by the Clique. The sunshine pop band from Austin, Texas, only released one album in 1969. It featured the singles “Sugar on Sunday (#22 BB) and “I’ll Hold Out My Hand” (#45 BB). The B-side of “Sugar on Sunday” was “Superman.” The song is “about a guy who sees himself as Superman…[and] believes he can see right through the girl (presumably using his X-ray vision) so he knows that she doesn’t really love the guy she’s with.” SF The song takes on a staker vibe when the protagonist “threatens to find her even if she’s a million miles away.” SF Cash Box called R.E.M.’s cover of the song “another sparing example of simplicity maximized.” WK Rolling Stone said it was “an irresistibly cheesy psychedelic grunge rocker.” WK This featured a rare lead vocal from bassist Mike Mills instead of usual singer Michael Stipe. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for R.E.M. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 6/18/2024.