What is the title of R.E.M.'s debut single released in 1981?

R.E.M.'s debut single, released in 1981, was "Radio Free Europe." The band issued it on the independent Hib-Tone label on July 8, 1981, with "Sitting Still" as its B-side. It was recorded at Drive-In Studios in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with producer Mitch Easter.

The song grew out of the band's early Athens rehearsals and performances. Bassist Mike Mills developed part of the music while playing an unplugged electric guitar in a record store, Peter Buck added the chorus and bridge, and Michael Stipe wrote and delivered the vocals. Its energetic guitars and famously difficult-to-decipher lyrics quickly attracted attention from college radio.

R.E.M. later re-recorded the song for its 1983 debut album, Murmur, after signing with I.R.S. Records. That later version became the band's first charting single, but the original 1981 Hib-Tone recording is the true debut single. This distinction explains why references to the song may mention both 1981 and 1983.