R.E.M.

R.E.M. (sometimes written as REM) is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. They were formed in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry.

They were one of the first popular alternative rock bands. Their first single, "Radio Free Europe", came out in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. The single was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band's first release on I.R.S. Records.

The band had no name as they went through several months of rehearsing and even when they played their first show on April 5, 1980, at a friend's birthday party held in a converted Episcopal church in Athens.

They had a number of pretty terrible names as possibilities including "Twisted Kites", "Cans of Piss", and "Negro Wives." R.E.M. is supposedly a random dictionary grab by Stipe - though I find it hard to believe it was random. 

The fact that we see the name both as R.E.M. and REM also makes the most obvious origin of the band's name as a legitimate acronym for "rapid eye movement" questionable.  That term was first used in the early 1950s when REM (pronounced as a word) sleep was identified as a normal stage of sleep characterized by the rapid and random movement of the eyes and dreaming. The allusion to dreaming is a nice one for the band, but they maintain that it was not selected for that reason.

Nevertheless, they did use the idea in some early promotions as shown below.

 

A reader of this blog wrote to say he heard that it comes from a measurement, as in 3 microREMs, with one microREM being one-millionth of a "roentgen equivalent man." That's interesting, and unsubstantiated, and I still like the dreaming allusion a lot better.

In 1983, the group released its critically acclaimed debut album, Murmur, and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring, and the support of college radio.

Following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit in 1987 with the single "The One I Love". The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to be more political and environmental in their songs. They also started playing large arenas worldwide.

R.E.M.: Document (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

And I Feel Fine (The Best Of The IRS Years 82-87)

They released fifteen original albums.

1. Murmur (1983)
2. Reckoning (1984)
3. Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)
4. Life's Rich Pageant (1986)
5. Document (1987)
6. Green (1988)
7. Out Of Time (1991)
8. Automatic for the People (1992)
9. Monster (1994)
10. New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)
11. Up (1998)
12. Reveal (2001)
13. Around the Sun (2004)
14. Accelerate (2008)
15. Collapse Into Now (2011)

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are still often referred to as "the world's greatest rock and roll band." The English band was formed in April 1962. The original members were guitarist and harmonica player Brian Jones, pianist Ian Stewart, vocalist Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards and Bill Wyman on bass with drummer Charlie Watts.

Their early setlists relied heavily on rhythm and blues songs and straight-ahead blues. Brian Jones and Keith Richards were big fans of Chess Records' artists such as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Howlin' Wolf and their Chicago blues style.

Muddy Waters' song "Rollin' Stone" was the inspiration for the band's name. According to Wikipedia, Jones named the band during a phone call interview with Jazz News. When asked  for the band's name - and they hadn't decided on one - Jones saw a Muddy Waters LP lying on the floor and took the song name. After signing to Decca Records in 1963, the band changed their name from "The Rollin' Stones" to "The Rolling Stones". Many fans and even the band members refer to the band as simply "The Stones."

Chess Records was based in Chicago, Illinois and was also the home to other artists they admired including seminal rockers like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. Their most famous studio was on South Michigan Avenue and The Rolling Stones recorded an instrumental track titled "2120 South Michigan Avenue" there during their first U.S. tour in 1964. They recorded in the Chess Studios on two more occasions. (The building is now home to Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven Foundation.)

1964

Brian Jones actually led the band until Jagger and Richards' songs became the bands' big early hits and they took the lead roles. By 1969, Jones' contributions to the records had diminished and after he was unable to tour the United States for legal reasons, he left the band by mutual agreement. Jones' died in 1969. Mick Taylor was the replacement guitarist from 69-74. He was later replaced by Ronnie Wood from The Faces.

2016

The Rolling Stones discography includes 25 studio albums, 10 live albums, and more than 30 compilation albums including multiple "greatest hits" collections. 

The band's Official Web Site is  www.rollingstones.com

=Studio album #1 to album #25

• The Rolling Stones Box Set
• Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones- Deluxe Edition 3DVD Numbered Box Set
• Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass)
• Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
• Rolled Gold+: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones ( 2 Discs/40 Tracks )
• Jump Back: The Best of the Rolling Stones 1971-1993
• Singles Collection: The London Years

The Rolling Stones 2015. Watts on drums, Wood on a silver guitar and Jagger playing guitar along with Richards. Photo: Jim Pietryga  CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

REO Speedwagon

REO SPEEDWAGON in 2010 CC BY 3.0, Link

REO SPEEDWAGON REO (originally R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band that formed in Champaign, Illinois in 1967. 

Their record sales peaked and they had their biggest hits during the 1970s. The group's best-selling album is Hi Infidelity (1980), which contained four US Top 40 hits and sold more than 10 million copies. 

Over the course of their career, the band has sold more than 40 million records and has charted 13 Top 40 hits, including the number ones "Keep On Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling." 

Though REO Speedwagon's record sales certainly waned in the late 1980s, the band actually remains a popular live act. The band appeared in an episode in the third season of the American TV series Ozark in 2020 and after the appearance, four of REO's songs reentered the Billboard rock charts.

A REO Speed Wagon Fire Truck at Jack Daniel's Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee
by Timj at Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Their name is not the initials of the band's founders. The REO Speed Wagon (alternatively Reo Speedwagon) was a light motor truck manufactured by REO Motor Car Company. It is an ancestor of the pickup truck. First introduced in 1915, production continued through at least 1953. "R.E.O." was the initials of Ransom Elliot Olds, the founder of the company and the name that later was applied to the Oldsmobile Car Company who produced an REO Speedwagon firetruck.

Badge from an REO Speed Wagon Fire Truck by Timjarrett, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Band Names From Other Bands

Some bands take their names from songs by other bands. It's a simple explanation that artists honor other artists.

    

Radiohead took its name from the Talking Heads' song called "Radio Head."


   

Simple Minds is taken from a line in the David Bowie song "Jean Genie."