1985 Top Ten Songs: Wendell Gee (#1)

Tweet

Yes, you knew these guys would top the list when Talking Heads were #2. And, since this is about songs that’ll are 40 years old, you knew it’d be something from this album. But which song? Heck, most of them could be on this list if I did multiple songs by the same artist. But there can only be one…and I picked this one to top the list. #1: Wendell Gee - R.E.M. If you remember back a couple of years ago, I went on my Derby getaway and ended up in Athens, Georgia. I made a little R.E.M. pilgrimage around town. One of the stops was at the grave of Wendell Gee. Yes, Wendell Gee was a real person. Born August 15, 1926, Gee was a World War II veteran. He died November 25, 1995, and is buried with his wife in the cemetery of the Baptist church he attended. Nothing like this song (the song, Michael Stipe said, was a “death dream” where he had a casket made of chicken wire inside a tree). Gee got the honor of being the titular character because Stipe saw his name on a business he owned and thought the name would make a good song title. Oh, was he ever right. This is a superb song from R.E.M., and from all the 80s. Thanks for reading. Wendell Gee Written by Mike Mills and Michael Stipe (credited to Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe) Recorded by R.E.M. From Fables of the Reconstruction, 1985 The wire, the wire, it turned to lizard skin: