WCSX Classic Cuts : Man On The Moon
NEW YORK - MARCH 12: (L-R) Mike Mills and Michael Stipe of R.E.M. perform with Eddie Vedder onstage at the 22nd annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel March 12, 2007 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)
WCSX Classic Cuts
R.E.M.: “Man on the Moon”
The Hook: The song led to the movie of the same name.
Album: Automatic for the People
Year: 1992
Writers: Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe
Stats: Peaked at number-30 on the Billboard Hot 100, number-two on the Alternative chart and number-four on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Background: When R.E.M. decided to write a musical homage to the late comedian and actor Andy Kaufman, they had no idea it would end up becoming the title for a biopic about Kaufman seven years later. Bassist Mike Mills traces how the song led to the movie.
R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills on the progression from their Andy Kaufman song “Man on the Moon” to the movie of the same name. OC:…that song. :16
“We asked them if we could use some film footage of Andy doing Elvis in the video. And I think that sort of triggered the idea in Andy’s family that it was time to do the documentary that they did on him and then from that came the movie. So yeah, the movie fairly directly came from that song.”
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