My Top 2000 Songs #1123: Superman

Let's be honest: Most of us, despite being total music nerds, would have never heard of The Clique's 1969 single "Superman" if R.E.M. hadn't given it a charming (yet faithful) cover treatment on 1986's Life's Rich Pageant. And while R.E.M.'s reclamation of an all-but-unknown obscurity may have been a bit of a lark--not even listed on Pageant's original LP cover--it's probably the song's definitive version, thanks to the buoyant, boyish vocal interplay between Michael Stipe & Mike Mills and some punchy production.

Still, the original is plenty fun in its own right. The little-known Houston band only had a single album (1969's eponymous release) and a handful of singles, a blend of bubblegum and pop and mild psych that owed a lot to Tommy James & The Shondells (whose "Sugar On Sunday" they covered). Their mid-2000s CD reissue combined the original LP and various additional tracks, and it's actually pretty decent, plenty of smile-inducing tracks that may not have been the best the era had to offer but are perfectly worthy of inclusion on whatever 60s forgotten-singles compilation you're into. Interestingly, the CD (pictured above) adds "Superman" to the shortlist of tracks named on the front cover, where it was missing on the original LP, a testament to R.E.M.'s recognition of the track as a lost classic. And one which needed very little tweaking.

R.E.M. cover:

1986 live performance by R.E.M. with the original songwriter, Clique frontman Gary Zekley. Pretty rough, but awesome:

The Minus 5 (with 3/4 of R.E.M.), live 2017:

Another fun cover, from Kyle Richards with Carey Anne:

Can't say I ever watched Glee, but kudos to them for the inspired choice!