Lou Reed

Lou Reed
source
Name	Lou Reed
Caption	Reed performing in 1974
Birth name	Lewis Allan Reed
Birth date	2 March 1942
Birth place	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Death date	27 October 2013
Death place	Southampton, New York, U.S.
Genre	Rock, protopunk, experimental rock, glam rock, noise music
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, photographer
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, harmonica
Years active	1958–2013
Label	Matador, Sire, RCA, Arista, Warner Bros.
Associated acts	The Velvet Underground, John Cale, David Bowie, Metallica

Lou Reed was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and poet, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of rock music. As the co-founder, guitarist, singer and principal songwriter of the Velvet Underground, he pioneered a raw, literary, and avant-garde approach that profoundly shaped alternative rock, punk rock, and indie music. His long and varied solo career, marked by commercial highs like "Walk on the Wild Side" and challenging artistic statements like Berlin and Metal Machine Music, cemented his status as a fearless and uncompromising artist who explored themes of urban life, drug addiction, sexuality, and existential despair.

Early life and education

Lewis Allan Reed was born at Beth Israel Hospital in Brooklyn and grew up in Freeport on Long Island. His middle-class Jewish family included his father, an accountant, and his mother, a former beauty queen. A gifted but troubled youth, he received electroconvulsive therapy as a teenager, an experience he later addressed in his song "Kill Your Sons". He developed an early interest in rock and roll and rhythm and blues, listening to artists like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, and began playing in bands. He studied at Syracuse University, where he was deeply influenced by poet Delmore Schwartz and earned a degree in English, while also hosting a radical radio show and sharpening his literary sensibilities.

Career

After moving to New York City and working as a staff songwriter for Pickwick Records, he formed the Velvet Underground in 1964 with classically trained musician John Cale. Managed by artist Andy Warhol and featuring chanteuse Nico, the band released its seminal debut, The Velvet Underground & Nico, in 1967, which, despite initial commercial failure, became a landmark album. After leaving the band in 1970, he launched a solo career, achieving mainstream success with the David Bowie-produced album Transformer (1972) and its hit single "Walk on the Wild Side". Subsequent albums like the harrowing song cycle Berlin and the controversial feedback experiment Metal Machine Music tested audience and critical limits. He experienced a major critical resurgence in the 1980s with albums like New York (1989) and continued collaborating with artists like Laurie Anderson and The Killers. His final studio project was the collaborative album Lulu with Metallica in 2011.

Musical style and influence

His musical style was characterized by a minimalist, drone-based approach often described as "ostinato", utilizing simple, repetitive chord structures and a deadpan vocal delivery. Lyrically, he brought a novelistic, Beat Generation-inspired realism to rock, unflinchingly depicting the demimonde of Manhattan, including stories of drug abuse, prostitution, and transgender life. His work with the Velvet Underground, often dubbed the "first alternative band", provided a foundational blueprint for punk rock, gothic rock, and the entire independent music ethos, famously encapsulated in Brian Eno's observation that while few bought their early records, everyone who did started a band. As a guitarist, he was known for his innovative use of distortion and feedback, influencing generations of noise rock and shoegaze musicians.

Personal life and death

His personal life was often as tumultuous as his art, with well-documented struggles with substance abuse, including amphetamines and heroin. He had several significant relationships, including with model and songwriter Bettye Kronstad and, later, musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson, whom he married in 2008. A lifelong resident of New York City, he was also an avid photographer and a practitioner of tai chi. He underwent a liver transplant in 2013 after suffering from hepatitis C and related complications. He died from liver disease at his home in Southampton at the age of 71. His death was met with an outpouring of tributes from across the music and art worlds, cementing his legacy as a singular and transformative voice.

Discography

A selective list of seminal albums includes: * With the Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967), White Light/White Heat (1968), The Velvet Underground (1969), Loaded (1970) * Solo: Lou Reed (1972), Transformer (1972), Berlin (1973), Sally Can't Dance (1974), Metal Machine Music (1975), Coney Island Baby (1976), Street Hassle (1978), The Blue Mask (1982), New York (1989), Magic and Loss (1992), Ecstasy (2000) * Collaborations: Songs for Drella (1990, with John Cale), The Raven (2003), Lulu (2011, with Metallica)

Category:American rock singers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American songwriters Category:1942 births Category:2013 deaths