Drummers - Bill Berry (REM)
William "Bill" Thomas Berry (born July 31, 1958) was the
drummer in alternative rock band R.E.M. for 17 years, before retiring
from the group and becoming a farmer.
Early years
Berry was born in Duluth, Minnesota, to Don and Anna - their fifth
child. At three years old, Berry moved with his family to Wauwatosa,
Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, where they would remain for the next
seven years. In 1968, they were on the move again, this time to
Sandusky, Ohio, on the banks of Lake Erie.
In 1972, the Berry family made their final move, to Macon, Georgia,
literally just in time to start high school. It was there that he met
bassist Mike Mills, and they played together in several different bands.
Their first attempt at a career in music was short-lived. "I graduated
high school in 1976 and put down my sticks and sold my drums," he
explained[citation needed]. He and Mills decided to make money the way
most other people do - by getting a day job. They rented an apartment on
Arlington Street in Macon and Bill landed a job at the Paragon booking
agency next door.
Berry and Mills moved to Athens, Georgia in 1978, where they met Michael
Stipe and Peter Buck.
R.E.M. years (1980-1997)
Main article: R.E.M. (band)
R.E.M. was thus formed in 1980. By the early 1990s became one of the
most acclaimed bands in the world.
Berry was more than simply R.E.M.'s drummer. He regularly contributed
elements such as guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards, and piano on studio
tracks. In concert he occasionally performed on bass, and supplied
regular backing vocals. Berry also made notable songwriting
contributions, the best-known of which is writing most of their intense
ballad "Everybody Hurts", as well as their hit "Man on the Moon". Other
Berry songs included "Perfect Circle", "Driver 8", and "Find the River".
Fittingly, the song "Leave" from R.E.M.'s 1996 album New Adventures in
Hi-Fi was also written by Berry, which was his last album with the band.
During 1984 Berry also was drummer for the impromptu Hindu Love Gods,
which featured his R.E.M. bandmates Mike Mills and Peter Buck and rocker
Warren Zevon.
Berry, as seen in the video for "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (1994)
Berry, as seen in the video for "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (1994)
Berry married his girlfriend of two years, Mari, on March 22, 1986. They
divorced eleven years later. He is now the father to a young son,
Owen.[1][2]
In 1995, in the Swiss town of Lausanne, Berry collapsed on stage during
an R.E.M. show, due to a brain aneurysm. He recovered and rejoined the
band, but left in October 1997, saying that he no longer had the drive
or enjoyment level to be in the band, and that he wanted a career
change. In an MTV interview, he explained: “I didn’t wake up one day and
decide, ‘I just can’t stand these guys anymore’ or anything. I feel like
I’m ready for a life change. I’m still young enough that I can do
something else. I’ve been pounding the tubs since I was nine years old
... I’m ready to do something else. I’m at a point in my life where some
of my priorities have shifted. I loved my seventeen years with R.E.M.,
but I’m ready to reflect, assess, and move on to a different phase of my
life. The four of us will continue our close friendship, and I look
forward to hearing their future efforts as the world’s biggest R.E.M.
fan.”
Acquiescing to Berry's wishes, and relieving him from the guilt of
triggering a breakup, R.E.M. announced that it would continue as a
three-piece outfit.
Subsequent life (1998 to present)
Berry thus left the music business and became a farmer, working on his
hay farm near Watkinsville, Georgia.
His musical activities after leaving R.E.M. have been very few, but did
include recording for the Tourette Syndrome Charity Album Welcome
Companions in 2000. He is also an avid golfer.
Berry has had several brief reunions with his former bandmates,
including one song in an October 2003 concert in Raleigh, North
Carolina, several songs at the October 2005 wedding of band roadie
DeWitt Burton, and performances at the band's September 2006 induction
into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and March 2007 induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also played drums and sang on R.E.M.'s
cover of '#9 Dream', a John Lennon cover recorded to benefit Darfur.
Nonetheless, Peter Buck and Michael Stipe said that Berry remained firm
on his decision to retire from the group.
Prior to the group's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
Berry granted his first interview in several years, discussing life
after retirement.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Berry
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