R.E.M. will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this Thursday, June 13. In conjunction with the honor, the band’s four founding members recently took part in their first joint interview in almost 30 years with CBS Mornings. Segments of the conversation will air on the CBS morning show on June 13 and Friday, June 14.
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A preview of CBS correspondent Anthony Mason’s interview with frontman Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry has been posted on CBS Mornings’ Instagram page.
In the clip, Mason asks the musicians how feel about their impending Hall of Fame induction.
“We lived or died on the strength of our songs,” Buck said. “So, this is a huge honor.”
Mills added, “It is the hardest thing that we do. And it’s the thing that we worked on the most from the very beginning.”
Berry then chimed in, “Because we had to. I mean, really, early on, just to put food on the table, we had to write songs as fast as we could.”
Mason also asked the bandmates if they ever reflected on the “impressive” body of work they created.
“It’s so self-indulgent to do that,” Mills maintained. “I mean, none of us are quite that self-indulgent.”
Stipe comically cut off Mills and declared, “OK, I am.”
The singer then shared, “I wind up on YouTube and I watch some live performance. I’m like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we did that.’ Like we did … things, and we did it really well from time to time.”
About This Year’s Songwriters Hall of Fame Ceremony
The 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction & Awards Gala will be held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. This year’s other honorees include Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and the late Walter Becker, Timbaland, country songwriter Hillary Lindsey, and pop composers Dean Pitchford and the late Cindy Walker.
In addition, Diane Warren will be presented with the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award, which is bestowed on a previously inducted songwriter or songwriting team whose body of work has been particularly impactful. Also, SZA will be bestowed with the Hal David Starlight Award, which honors songwriters at the height of their careers who are making a strong mark on music.
More About R.E.M.
R.E.M. formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980, and the band became one of the most influential and popular alternative rock acts on the planet. The group always shared songwriting credit on all of their songs.
R.E.M. remained a quartet until 1997, when Berry retired from the group. As a trio, the band continued on, with additional musicians augmenting its touring lineup and in the studio. The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, and broke up amicably in 2011.
