Michael Stipe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michael Stipe
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Stipe in 2008
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| Birth name | John Michael Stipe |
| Born | January 4, 1960 Decatur, Georgia, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1980–present |
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John Michael Stipe (born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and artist. He is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the alternative rock band R.E.M..
Around 1980, Stipe attended the University of Georgia in Athens. There, he became part of the local college rock music scene. He formed R.E.M. after meeting his bandmates at the university. He soon left school to focus on music with them. The band released its first song, "Radio Free Europe." They then signed with I.R.S. Records and became very successful.
Stipe has a unique voice. In his early career, he was known for a "mumbling" style. Later, his singing became more clear and powerful. He also managed R.E.M.'s visual style. He often chose album artwork and directed many of the band's music videos. Outside of music, he owns and runs two film production companies.
As a member of R.E.M., Stipe was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. He has influenced many artists, including Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.
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Early Life and Education
Michael Stipe was born on January 4, 1960, in Decatur, Georgia. His parents were Marianne and John Stipe. His father was in the United States Army. Because of his father's job, his family moved often. They lived in places like West Germany, Texas, Illinois, and Alabama. His younger sister, Lynda Stipe, was born in 1962. She later became a singer too.
In 1978, Stipe graduated from high school in Collinsville, Illinois. He also worked at a local Waffle House restaurant. When he was 14, he discovered punk rock music. He was inspired by an article about the CBGB music scene. The article featured a photo of Patti Smith, who became his idol. He bought her first album, Horses, the day it came out.
Music Career Highlights
Early Bands
In the early 1980s, Stipe played in a group called Boat Of. Other members included Tom Smith, Carol Levy, and Mike Green.
Forming R.E.M.
While at the University of Georgia in Athens, Stipe often visited the Wuxtry record shop. In 1980, he met Peter Buck, who worked there. They became friends and decided to start a band. Soon, Bill Berry and Mike Mills joined them. They chose the name R.E.M. from a dictionary. Stipe was the youngest member of the band.
All four members of R.E.M. left college in 1980 to focus on their new band. Stipe was the last to leave. The band released its first song, "Radio Free Europe." It became popular on college radio. They then signed with I.R.S. Records. In 1983, R.E.M. released their first album, Murmur. Critics praised the album, especially Stipe's singing and lyrics. Murmur even won Rolling Stone magazine's Critics Poll Album of the Year. Their second album, Reckoning, followed in 1984.
In 1985, R.E.M. recorded their third album, Fables of the Reconstruction, in England. This was a challenging time for the band. After the album came out, relationships within the band were tense. Stipe later said he felt very tired and overwhelmed during this period. He even bleached his hair blond that year while touring.
Bill Berry left R.E.M. in 1997. The remaining three members continued as a band. R.E.M. decided to stop making music together in 2011. Stipe confirmed in 2021 that they had no plans to reunite.
Other Music Projects
In 1983, Stipe was in a short film called Just Like a Movie. It was filmed in Athens by a friend. Other people in the film included his sister Lynda and R.E.M.'s Bill Berry.
From 1990 to 1992, Stipe worked with the band Chickasaw Mudd Puppies. He helped produce their two albums, White Dirt and 8 Track Stomp.
Stipe had planned to work with his friend Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, in 1994. However, they did not get to record anything before Cobain's death. Stipe became the godfather of Cobain's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. R.E.M. recorded the song "Let Me In" in tribute to Cobain. In 2023, Stipe officiated Frances Bean Cobain's wedding.
Stipe was also close friends with singer Natalie Merchant. They recorded a song together called "Photograph." They also performed live with Peter Gabriel. Stipe and Tori Amos became friends in the mid-1990s. They recorded a duet in 1994, but decided not to release it.
In 1998, Stipe published a book called Two Times Intro: On the Road with Patti Smith. In 2006, Stipe released an EP with six different cover versions of "In The Sun." This was to raise money for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. One version, with Coldplay's Chris Martin, reached number one on the Canadian Singles Chart. Stipe also sang on songs for other bands like Placebo and New York Dolls.
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In 2008, Stipe worked with Lacoste to create his own special edition polo shirt. He performed "Losing My Religion" with Chris Martin at the 12-12-12 concert. This concert raised money for relief from Hurricane Sandy. A new song from Stipe featuring Courtney Love was released in 2013. Stipe also created the music for the 2013 film The Cold Lands.
Stipe inducted the band Nirvana into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. He performed his first solo song at Moogfest in 2017. In 2017, Stipe started recording again. He produced and co-wrote songs for Fischerspooner's album Sir, released in 2018. Stipe released solo songs like "Future, If Future" (2018) and "Your Capricious Soul" (2019). "Drive to the Ocean" was released for his 60th birthday in 2020.
Photography has always been a hobby for Stipe. He has carried a camera since he was a teenager. In 2018, Stipe released a book of his photographs called Volume 1. It included photos of celebrities like River Phoenix and Kurt Cobain. A second book, Our Interference Times: A Visual Record, was released in 2019.
In 2019, Stipe worked with the band Big Red Machine on the song "No Time For Love Like Now." The song was released in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stipe began recording his first solo album in New York City in 2023. He is writing and producing "synth-infused, poppy" songs with his longtime friend and collaborator, Andy LeMaster.
Film and Television Work
In 1987, Stipe co-founded C-00 Films. This company was created to produce and promote alternative films. Stipe has been an executive producer for films like Being John Malkovich, Velvet Goldmine, and Man on the Moon. He was also a producer for the 2004 film Saved! In 1998, he worked on Single Cell Pictures, another film production company.
Stipe has also appeared in films and on television. He was an ice cream man named Captain Scrummy in an episode of The Adventures of Pete & Pete.
Stipe appeared as himself with R.E.M. on Sesame Street. They sang a new version of "Shiny Happy People" called "Furry Happy Monsters." He also appeared in an episode of The Simpsons called "Homer the Moe". R.E.M. was tricked into playing a show in Homer Simpson's garage. He also appeared on the Cartoon Network show Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Stipe made several short appearances on The Colbert Report.
Stipe voiced Schnitzel the Reindeer in the 1999 movie Olive, the Other Reindeer. He also appeared in the 1996 film Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day.
Political Activism
In March 2006, Stipe and other musicians held a protest concert against the Iraq War. In March 2018, Stipe joined the "March for Our Lives" rallies. These rallies supported stricter gun control laws after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. He also shared a teaser of a new song at the rally.
In a 2021 interview, Stipe described himself as a democratic socialist. He said he was a member of the Democratic Party so he could vote in their primary elections. He supported Bernie Sanders' presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020.
In October 2023, Stipe signed an open letter from artists to President Joe Biden. The letter asked for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Personal Life
Stipe is a vegetarian. He used to co-own a vegetarian restaurant in Athens, Georgia. He lives with his long-term partner, photographer Thomas Dozol. They live in New York and Berlin.
In 1983, Stipe met Natalie Merchant of the band 10,000 Maniacs. They became friends and had a romantic relationship for a time.
As R.E.M. became more famous in the early 1990s, rumors about Stipe's health began to spread. He addressed these rumors, explaining that his appearance was due to being naturally thin and a past illness. In 1994, Stipe said he was attracted to both men and women. In 2001, he described himself as a "queer artist" in Time magazine. He also shared that he had been in a relationship with "an amazing man" for three years. Stipe explained in a 2004 interview that "queer" describes something more inclusive than just gay or straight.
In 1999, author Douglas A. Martin published a novel called Outline of My Lover. The book was based on a real relationship between Martin and Stipe. They had also worked together on two books in 1998.
Musical Style
Michael Stipe has a baritone singing voice. In R.E.M., his job was to write the lyrics and create the melodies for songs. While all band members had an equal say, Stipe's ideas for lyrics were usually followed. His singing style has been compared to Celtic folk artists. Stipe often sings harmonies with Mike Mills in R.E.M. songs. Early in the band's career, Stipe's singing was sometimes hard to understand. He said in 1984, "It's just the way I sing."
Stipe is recognized in the music industry for his unique voice. Bono of U2 called his voice "extraordinary." In 2023, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Stipe among the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Stipe once said that many of his early lyrics were "nonsense." However, many early R.E.M. songs had clear lyrics that he wrote carefully. He explained that he started with "simple pictures" in his lyrics. Later, he began to experiment with lyrics that did not make exact sense. In the mid-1980s, as Stipe's singing became clearer, the band decided their lyrics should be more direct. After the "Dark Ages of American Politics" (the Reagan/Bush years), R.E.M. included more political ideas in their songs. Stipe said this was a reaction to the world around them. While Stipe continued to write political songs, later albums explored other topics. For example, Automatic for the People was about "mortality and dying." Monster looked at love and popular culture.
Discography
Solo Releases
- "Arms of Love" on In Defense of Animals Benefit Compilation (1993)
- "Full Moon" on the Short Cuts soundtrack (1993)
- "In the Sun" (with Chris Martin) (2006)
- "Rio Grande" (with Courtney Love) on Son of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys (2013)
- "Your Capricious Soul" (2019)
- "Drive to the Ocean" (2020)
- "No Time for Love Like Now" (with Big Red Machine) (2020)
- "Sunday Morning" on I'll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico (2021)
Guest Appearances (Selected)
- With the Golden Palominos: "Boy (Go)" (1985)
- With 10,000 Maniacs: "A Campfire Song" (1987)
- With Warren Zevon: "Bad Karma" (1987)
- With the Indigo Girls: "Kid Fears" (1989)
- With Patti Smith: "Last Call" (1997)
- With Placebo: "Broken Promise" (2006)
- With Miguel Bosé: "Lo que hay es lo que ves" (2007)
Production Work (Selected)
In addition to co-producing most of R.E.M.'s music, Stipe has also produced:
- Hugo Largo: "Drum" (1988)
- Chickasaw Mudd Puppies: White Dirt (1990) and 8 Track Stomp (1991)
- With Vic Chesnutt: "Little" (1990)
- With Fischerspooner: Sir (2018)
Books
- Michael Stipe: Volume 1. Damiani, 2018. Contains 35 photographs.
- Our Interference Times: A Visual Record. With Douglas Coupland. Damiani, 2019.
- Michael Stipe: Michael Stipe. Damiani, 2021.
- Even the Birds Gave Pause. Damiani. 2023.
See also
In Spanish: Michael Stipe para niños
