Which singer provides backing vocals on R.E.M.'s 'E-Bow the Letter'?

Which singer provides backing vocals on R.E.M.’s “E-Bow the Letter”? Patti Smith provides the backing vocals on the song.

“E-Bow the Letter” was released in 1996 as the lead single from R.E.M.’s tenth studio album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Patti Smith’s distinctive vocal contribution gives the track an especially atmospheric and incantatory quality, complementing Michael Stipe’s intense lead performance rather than functioning as a conventional duet.

Smith was a major influence on both Stipe and guitarist Peter Buck, so her appearance was artistically meaningful as well as musically striking. The song was recorded after much of the album’s material had been captured onstage and during travel, with additional studio work completed at Bad Animals in Seattle.

The title combines an “E-Bow,” an electromagnetic guitar device that sustains strings, with the image of an electronically sent or unsent letter. The song is also associated with Stipe’s feelings about his friend River Phoenix. Smith later contributed vocals to R.E.M.’s “Blue” on Collapse into Now, but “E-Bow the Letter” remains their best-known collaboration.