The four founding members of R.E.M. performed together publicly for the first time in nearly three decades at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Ceremony in New York on Thursday night. Singer Michael Stipe delivered a heartfelt five-minute speech on behalf of all four members that had a few gracious lines about their own relationship and work, but mostly included a long list of people who’d helped them along the way. The group then concluded their just-over-ten-minute appearance by performing their breakthrough song, 1987’s “Losing My Religion,” acoustically.
With characteristic understatement, the group — singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry — showed their respect for the honor and the institution, their friendship and decades-long bond, and in gracious terms, fans, family, friends, and everyone who helped them along the…
