Lou Reed

Lou Reed

Lou Reed is an American musician, songwriter and poet from Brooklyn, born in 1942 and active until his death in 2013. He is best known as the guitarist, singer and principal songwriter of the Velvet Underground, and for a solo career that spans several decades.

Early work and the Velvet Underground

Reed plays guitar and sings in doo-wop groups while at high school, then studies poetry at Syracuse University under Delmore Schwartz. While at college he also works as a radio DJ, presenting a late-night programme focused on avant-garde music. After graduating, he joins Pickwick Records in New York City as a songwriter and session musician at a low-budget label specialising in sound-alike recordings. There he meets John Cale, and together with Sterling Morrison and Angus MacLise he forms the Velvet Underground in 1965.

The band builds a reputation on the avant-garde music scene and attracts Andy Warhol, who becomes their manager. They become closely associated with Warhol’s Factory and act as his house band for various projects. Their first album appears in 1967 with drummer Moe Tucker and German singer Nico. After further lineup changes and three more little-heard albums, Reed leaves the group in 1970.

Solo career

After leaving the Velvet Underground, Reed develops a more commercially successful solo career and releases twenty solo studio albums. His second solo album, Transformer, is produced by David Bowie and arranged by Mick Ronson. It brings him mainstream recognition and becomes an important glam rock record, centred on his best-known single, “Walk on the Wild Side”.

Berlin follows as a less commercial but critically respected album and reaches number 7 on the UK Albums Chart. The live album Rock 'n' Roll Animal sells strongly, and Sally Can't Dance reaches number 10 on the Billboard 200. After a period in which his records do not convert into sales, he deals with drug addiction and alcoholism. He then returns to greater prominence with The Blue Mask and New Sensations, and reaches a career peak with New York in 1989.

Later work and collaborations

Reed takes part in the Velvet Underground reunion in the 1990s and records several further albums. These include Songs for Drella, a collaboration with John Cale that serves as a tribute to Andy Warhol, and Lulu, recorded with Metallica. He also contributes music to two theatrical interpretations of 19th-century writers, developing one of them into the album The Raven. His highest-charting UK album is Magic and Loss, which reaches number 6.

Style, labels and recognition

Reed’s work is associated with art rock, glam rock, hard rock, noise, pop rock and rock. His distinctive deadpan voice, poetic and transgressive lyrics, and experimental guitar playing are recurring features of his music. He is connected with the labels Lou Reed Music and Sister Ray Enterprises Inc.

He is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: first as a member of the Velvet Underground in 1996, and later as a solo artist in 2015.

Personal life and death

Reed marries his third wife, Laurie Anderson, in 2008. He dies in 2013 of liver disease.