he music of Athens, Georgia, includes a wide variety of popular music and was an important part of the early evolution of alternative rock and new wave, the The city is well known as the home of chart-topping bands like R.E.M., an American rock band that formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by which lead singer?
R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band that formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by lead singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist/backing vocalist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Stipe's particular vocal quality and obscure lyrics, Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style, and Mills' melodic basslines and backing vocals. R.E.M. released its first single—"Radio Free Europe"—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. 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 espouse political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide.
British pop music British pop music is popular music, produced commercially in the United Kingdom. It emerged in the mid-to late 1950s as a softer alternative to rock 'n' roll and later to rock music. Like American pop music it has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, as well as that of the Singles Chart usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs. While these basic elements of the genre have remained fairly constant, pop music has absorbed influences from most other forms of popular music, particularly borrowing from the development of rock music, and utilising key technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes. From the British Invasion of the 1960s, led by The Beatles, British pop music has alternated between acts and genres with national appeal and those with international success that have had a considerable impact on the development of the wider genre and on popular music in general.