"Wendell Gee" is a song by the American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

, released as the third and final

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the group's third studio album ''

Fables of the Reconstruction ''Fables of the Reconstruction'', also known as ''Reconstruction of the Fables'', is the third studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on I.R.S. Records on June 10, 1985. The Joe Boyd-produced album was the first recorde ...

'' in 1985. It was released in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

only, in two 7" and two 12" formats. Instrumentally, the song was almost entirely composed and performed by

Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., h ...

, with

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Pos ...

supplying the lyric and vocal. (Mills' backing vocal is ''"Gonna miss you, boy"''.)

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his ca ...

hated the song when it was initially recorded, claiming its only redeeming feature was his banjo solo, and it was only included on the album at the last minute. With Buck's objections being such, the song was very rarely played live, even on the European leg of the Reconstruction tour where it had been released as a single. Buck has since revised his view of the song. The subject of the song died just after R.E.M. completed their 1995 world tour in support of the previous year's '' Monster''. He was 69.http://www.svs.com/rem/other/real_people.faq

Track listings

All songs written by Bill Berry,

and

unless otherwise indicated. 7" # "Wendell Gee" – 3:02 # "Crazy" ( Pylon) – 3:05 7" double pack and 12" - Holland # "Wendell Gee" – 3:02 # "Crazy" ( Pylon) – 3:05 # "

Ages of You "Ages of You" is a song by the band R.E.M. from their album ''Dead Letter Office''. It was one of the early songs the group wrote. Song information The song rose from another early R.E.M. song "Burning Down." According to guitarist Peter Buck, a ...

" – 3:44 # "Burning Down" – 4:13 12" - UK # "Wendell Gee" – 3:02 # "Crazy" ( Pylon) – 3:05 # "

Driver 8 "Driver 8" is the second single from American musical group R.E.M.'s third album, ''Fables of the Reconstruction''. Released in September 1985, the song peaked at number 22 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It was not relea ...

" (live)¹ – 3:30

Notes

¹ Recorded at the Music Hall, Seattle, Washington; June 27, 1984.

References

{{Authority control R.E.M. songs 1985 singles Songs written by Bill Berry Songs written by Peter Buck Songs written by Mike Mills Songs written by Michael Stipe I.R.S. Records singles Songs based on actual events Song recordings produced by Joe Boyd 1985 songs American folk rock songs