(Born Jan. 04, 1960) Michael Stipe is the founding member, lead singer and creative head of the American rock band R.E.M. Michael Stipe has become well-known (and occasionally parodied) for the "mumbling" style of his early career and for his complex, surreal lyrics, as well as his social and political activism. Michael Stipe and the other members of R.E.M. have become godfathers of alternative rock and are perhaps the first such band to achieve mainstream success.