Superman (R.E.M. song)
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| “Superman” | |||||
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| Single by R.E.M. from the album Lifes Rich Pageant |
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| B-side | "White Tornado" | ||||
| Released | November 1986 (US) March 1987 (Europe) |
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| Format | 7" Vinyl | ||||
| Recorded | April - May 1986 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative Rock | ||||
| Length | 2:54 | ||||
| Label | I.R.S. Records | ||||
| Producer | Don Gehman | ||||
| R.E.M. singles chronology | |||||
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"Superman" is a song recorded by R.E.M. from their fourth album, 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant. It was the last of two singles released from that LP.
This song is a cover of a 1969 song by The Clique, written by producer/songwriter Gary Zekley and Mitchell Bottler. The song was originally released as the b-side to The Clique's hit "Sugar on Sunday", itself a cover of a Tommy James and the Shondells song. Gary Zekley joined R.E.M. on stage during a performance at Northern Illinois University in De Kalb, Illinois, on October 21, 1986. The song was also popularized by Moby Grape.
Though "Superman" has received a fair amount of radio play over the years, it did not chart on the main U.S. singles chart (although it did reach #17 on Billboard Magazine's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart). [1]
For a time the band refused to play the song. In one notorious incident, when one concert goer yelled his request of the song, Michael Stipe responded by approaching the microphone and saying, "Shut up, we hate that song."[citation needed] During the recording process, Stipe was not as enthusiastic with recording the song as the others were, and as a result bassist Mike Mills debuted on lead vocals with Stipe providing background.
The song appeared in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman's episode named "Tempus Anyone?" (1996).
In early 1999, IBM began a television advertisement campaign for its Lotus Notes software product that included the chorus of "Superman," sung by a female vocalist.
The B-side to this single is a surf rock instrumental entitled "White Tornado", recorded in 1981.
In a 2006 episode of The Simpsons, "Million Dollar Abie", this song played during a montage of fun things Abe Simpson does after reconsidering euthanasia. Also that year, the song was covered by the band The Academy Is... on the album Sound of Superman, coinciding with the release of the new Warner Bros. film Superman Returns.
CSI: NY season 2 used the track to close its episode "Super Men".
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe unless otherwise indicated.
[edit] 7": IRS / IRM 128 (UK)
- "Superman" (Gary Zekley/Mitchell Bottler) - 2:52
- "White Tornado" - 1:56
[edit] 12": IRS / IRT 128 (UK)
- "Superman" (Gary Zekley / Mitchell Bottler) – 2:52
- "White Tornado" – 1:56
- "Femme Fatale" (Lou Reed) – 2:50
[edit] 12": IRS / ILS 65025 5 6 (Holland)
- "Superman" (Gary Zekley/Mitchell Bottler) - 2:52
- "White Tornado" - 1:56
- "Perfect Circle" - 3:30
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