Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as co-founder and lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.
Throughout his career with R.E.M. (1980–2011), as well as during his subsequent solo career, Buck has also been at various times an official member of numerous ‘side project’ groups. These groups included Hindu Love Gods, The Minus 5, Tuatara, The Baseball Project, Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 and Tired Pony, each of which have released at least one full-length album. Additionally, another side project group called Full Time Men released an EP while Buck was a member; ad hoc “supergroups” Bingo Hand Job (Billy Bragg and R.E.M.) and Nigel & The Crosses (Robyn Hitchcock, Peter Buck, Glenn Tilbrook and others) have each commercially released one track.
Other notable groups of Buck’s that have not recorded include Slow Music, which plays semi-regular gigs, and “Richard M. Nixon”, a band Buck founded in 2012 to support the release of his solo album with live gigs. Richard M. Nixon consists of Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin, the same three musicians who comprise The Venus 3.
Buck also has a notable career as a record producer (including releases by Uncle Tupelo, Vigilantes of Love, Dreams So Real, The Fleshtones, The Feelies, and The Jayhawks, as well as a session musician (for the likes of The Replacements, Billy Bragg, and Eels.)
Early life
Peter Lawrence Buck was born in Berkeley, California on December 6, 1956. After spending time in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Buck family moved to Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating with honors from Crestwood High School in 1975, Buck attended Emory University and joined Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He eventually dropped out of Emory. Buck moved to Athens, Georgia, and attended the University of Georgia as well. While in Athens, Buck worked at the Wuxtry Records store, where he met future bandmate Michael Stipe as well as R.E.M.’s future legal and managerial representative, Bertis Downs.
| Peter Buck | |
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Buck on stage with R.E.M. in 2008
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Peter Lawrence Buck |
| Born | December 6, 1956 Berkeley, California U.S. |
| Genres | Alternative rock, folk rock, college rock, jangle pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, mandolin, banjo, vocals, bass |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Labels | Mississippi Records |
| Associated acts | R.E.M., Hindu Love Gods, The Minus 5, Tuatara, The Baseball Project, The Venus 3, Eels, Mark Eitzel, The Replacements, Tired Pony, Saint John and the Revelations, The Filthy Friends Corin Tucker, The Decemberists |
| Notable instruments | |
| Rickenbacker 360 Gibson Les Paul Gibson Flatiron Mandolin Fender Jag-Stang |
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Peter Buck net worth: Peter Buck is an American businessman and philanthropist who has a net worth of $2.8 billion dollars. That net worth makes him one of the richest people in Connecticut. Born in South Portland, Maine, Peter Buck graduated from Bowdoin College, and then went on to earn his Masters and his doctorate at Columbia University, where he majored in physics. While working as a nuclear physicist in the late 50s, he loaned a friend $1000 to open a sandwich shop. His friend, Fred deLuca, was struggling to pay for college, and the shop was meant to be a way to earn money for school. Named, “Pete’s Super Submarines”, the shop did moderately well, and the pair opened a second location. Even though the two shops were struggling, they decided to continue expanding. Their gamble paid off, and by the early 70s, they had 16 locations all over Connecticut. They decided to expand further and renamed their shop, simply, “Subway”. Subway has since grown into the largest sandwich chain in the world, with over 36,000 shops in 99 countries.
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