Rest in Peace

Album: III Sides To Every Story (1992)
Charted: 13 96
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The first single from Extreme's third album is the surprisingly political "Rest in Peace." It proclaims a sentiment rarely heard outside the country genre: war is sometimes necessary.

    The song was written around the time of the first Gulf War when the United States invaded Iraq in 1991 as part of Operation Desert Storm. Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme got the idea for the song after seeing footage of protesters holding signs that said, "Make Love, Not War." In our interview with Bettencourt, he said: "We thought that war is not that simple. Nobody wants war until somebody is invading their country."
  • Bettencourt's guitar riff on this track was inspired by Jimi Hendrix, one of his favorite guitarists. Nuno says he wasn't very subtle in his Hendrix homage.
  • Extreme scored their biggest hits with "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted" from their previous album, Pornograffitti. "Rest in Peace" sounded nothing nothing like those acoustic numbers, and made little impact on the American charts. Their next single, "Stop the World," only made #96, and after one more album, the band split up. The returned in 2008 with Saudades de Rock. Both Bettencourt and Cherone have had rather interesting gigs outside of the band: Cherone was lead singer in Van Halen from 1996-1999, and Bettencourt joined Rihanna's live band in 2009.
  • The video is slightly surreal, built around hyper-kinetic scenes of two neighbors fighting. It was directed by Wayne Isham, whose other work includes "Piece Of Me" for Britney Spears and "All The Right Moves" for OneRepublic.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside Story

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside StorySong Writing

The in-depth discussion about the making of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley, who played Jesus in the 1973 film.

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"They're Playing My Song

The first of Billy's five #1 hits was the song that propelled Madonna to stardom. You'd think that would get you a backstage pass, wouldn't you?

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"They're Playing My Song

Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)Songwriter Interviews

Richie talks about producing the first two Kiss albums, recording "Brother Louie," and the newfound appreciation of his rock band, Dust.