Peter Buck
Sign in to saveAlso known as Raoul
American musician; guitarist for R.E.M., songwriter, record producer
Key facts
- Born
- Peter Lawrence Buck , ( 1956-12-06 ) December 6, 1956 (age 69) , Berkeley, California , U.S.
- Genres
- Alternative rock , folk rock , punk rock
- Occupations
- Musician, songwriter
- Instruments
- Guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass guitar
- Years active
- 1976–present
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Lawrence
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Berkeley
- Occupation
- mandolinist
- Languages spoken
- American English
- Native language
- American English
- Religion
- atheism
- Genre
- alternative rock
- Instrument
- musical keyboard
- Image
- Peter Buck of REM in looking over shoulder.jpg
- Residence
- Portland
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- Peter Buck
- date of birth
- 1956-12-06
- handedness
- right-handedness
- start of work period
- 1981-00-00
- birth name
- Peter Lawrence Buck
- name in native language
- Peter Buck
via Wikidata · CC0
~15 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.; he played the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his career with R.E.M. (1980–2011), as well as during his subsequent solo career, Buck has been at various times a member of numerous side project groups. These groups included Arthur Buck (with Joseph Arthur), Hindu Love Gods, The Minus 5, Tuatara, The Baseball Project, Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3, Tired Pony, The No-Ones, and Filthy Friends, each of which have released at least one full-length studio album. Additionally, the experimental combo Slow Music have released an official live concert CD. Another side project group called Full Time Men released an EP while Buck was a member. As well, ad hoc "supergroups" Bingo Hand Job (Billy Bragg and R.E.M.), Musical Kings (Michelle Malone, Peter Buck, John Keane) and Nigel & The Crosses (Robyn Hitchcock, Peter Buck, Glenn Tilbrook and others) have each commercially released one track. Buck's latest project as of 2025 is Drink The Sea (with Lizette Garcia, Duke Garwood, Alain Johannes and Barrett Martin), and the band has released a self-titled double album in Autumn 2025.
Richard M. Nixon, a band Buck founded in 2012 to support the release of his solo album with live gigs, has never issued an official recording. Richard M. Nixon consisted of Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin, the same three musicians who comprise The Venus 3.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Peter Buck” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.