Golly, my TV is great: "My Bible is the Latest TV Guide" by Thirteen-One-Eleven (Bill Berry of R.E.M.) · Jul 31, 06:46 AM by Don
Today is William Thomas Berry’s 50th birthday. Most of us know him as Bill Berry, former drummer (and occasional bassist) for R.E.M. Happy birthday, Bill! It is now officially a Timedoor tradition to do the Bill Berry Birthday post. So, for the third year in a row, here we go…
Bill Berry of R.E.M. shocked many, including his bandmates, when he decided to retire from the band, one of the most respected and influential bands of the modern rock era. Berry’s decision to move on was inspired in part by a 1995 brain aneurysm that interrupted the Monster tour.
At a press conference announcing the decision, Berry had this to say:
“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.”
Many fans lament Berry’s departure, citing it as a major reason for R.E.M.’s perceived creative stagnation (I think Up and Reveal are just fine, thank you; Around the Sun is another story) and falling record sales. The band’s last platinum album, and last with Berry, was 1996’s New Adventures in Hi-Fi. He was comfortable playing various instruments, not just the drums, and his backing vocals offered a smooth counterpoint to Michael Stipe’s keening. He was also a songwriter and made significant contributions to “Perfect Circle,” “Everybody Hurts,” “Find the River,” and “Leave.”
Berry’s 1989 solo single, released under the moniker, Thirteen-One-Eleven, is a testament to Berry’s versatility. The A-side is an original country goof titled, “My Bible is the Latest T.V. Guide.” The B-side is “Things I’d Like to Say,” originally performed by Sixties garage rockers, the New Colony Six. What I marvel at is Berry’s elastic vocal cords. “My Bible” is sung in a goofy baritone, while “Things” is delivered in a gentle tenor.
mp3: Thirteen-One-Eleven – My Bible is the Latest TV Guide :: a-side of 1989 12” single on Jefferson Holt’s Dog Gone label
mp3: Thirteen-One-Eleven – Things I’d Like to Say :: New Colony Six cover, b-side of 1989 12” single on Jefferson Holt’s Dog Gone label
mp3: New Colony Six – Things I’d Like to Say :: from Revelations (1968)
If you’re wondering why Berry didn’t record under his own name, take a closer look at “Thirteen-One-Eleven.” Rewrite it as numbers and you’ll see it spells out “Bill” (13-1-11).
Berry has a connection to Wisconsin, detailed in Susan Masino’s 2003 book, Famous Wisconsin Musicians:
“R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry was born William Thomas Berry on July 31, 1958, in Duluth, Minnesota. His family moved around the Great Lakes area and lived for a while in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee. After scoring well on a music aptitude test, Berry chose to learn the drums at the age of nine. He also grew up listening to his older siblings, becoming a serious Jefferson Airplane fan by age eleven. In 1972, his family moved to Macon, Georgia.”
Click here to check out Masino’s MySpace page.
The rest of the 2.5 page chapter focuses largely on the formation of R.E.M. and Berry’s role in the band.
My buddy in blogging, Jeff, wrote about the Berry single in 2005. Check it out here.
The media-shy Berry gave a rare interview last spring, on the occasion of R.E.M.‘s induction in the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame. Read it here.
Here’s another article about what Berry has been up to.
Below is the video for “Bittersweet Me,” from New Adventures, one of the last R.E.M. music videos to feature Bill Berry drumming:
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Songs in the MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 format are offered for a limited time only. Songs that are no longer downloadable can be streamed at the Timedoor page at Hype Machine. Dead mp3 links take you to the top of page one. Support your favorite artists by buying their music at your local independent record store (mine is Atomic Records) or eMusic. And read about ‘em at TrouserPress.com.
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