New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Lou Reed, the singer-songwriter whose darkly poetic recordings as frontman for the
Velvet Underground and as a solo artist provided indispensable blueprints for punk, glam, noise rock and nearly every identifiable strain of indie rock, died on October 27. He was 71.
The cause of Reed's death is still unknown. However, Reed received a liver transplant in May of this year, and in July he was hospitalized for severe dehydration.
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed (March 2, 1942 - October 27, 2013) was an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer from Brooklyn, New York. He was best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The
Velvet Underground, and for his solo career, which spanned several decades. Though the
Velvet Underground were a commercial failure in the late 1960s, the group has gained a considerable cult following in the years since its demise and has gone on to become one of the most widely cited and influential bands of the era. As the
Velvet Underground's vocalist and principal songwriter, Reed wrote about subjects of personal experience that rarely had been examined so openly in rock and roll, including sexuality and drug culture.
After his departure from the group, Reed began a solo career in 1972. He had a hit the following year with "Walk on the Wild Side", although he subsequently lacked the mainstream commercial success its chart status seemed to indicate. In 1975, Reed released a double album of feedback loops, Metal Machine Music, upon which he later commented, "No one is supposed to be able to do a thing like that and survive." Reed was known for his distinctive deadpan voice, poetic lyrics and for pioneering and coining the term Ostrich guitar.
In 2008, Reed married performance artist Laurie Anderson.
Discography:
With the
Velvet Underground
The
Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
White Light/White Heat (1968)
The
Velvet Underground (1969)
Loaded (1970)
Live at Max's Kansas City (1972)
1969: The
Velvet Underground Live (1974)
VU (1985)
Another View (1986)
Live MCMXCIII (1993)
Peel Slowly and See (1995)
Fully Loaded (1997)
Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes (2001)
As a solo artist
For a more comprehensive list, see
Lou Reed discography.
Lou Reed (1972)
Transformer (1972)
Berlin (1973)
Sally Can't Dance (1974)
Metal Machine
Music (1975)
Coney Island Baby (1975)
Rock and Roll
Heart (1976)
Street Hassle (1978)
The Bells (1979)
Growing Up in Public (1980)
The Blue Mask (1982)
Legendary Hearts (1983)
New Sensations (1984)
Mistrial (1986)
New York (1989)
Magic and Loss (1992)
Set the Twilight Reeling (1996)
Ecstasy (2000)
The Raven (2003)
Hudson River Wind Meditations (2007)
Collaborations
Songs for Drella (with John Cale) (1990)
The Stone: Issue Three (with John Zorn and Laurie Anderson) (2008)
The Creation of the Universe (with the Metal Machine Trio) (2008)
Lulu (with Metallica) (2011)
Guest appearances
Lost in the Stars: The
Music of Kurt Weill -
Various Artists (1985) "
September Song"
Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom - Tom Tom Club (1988) "
Femme Fatale"
Nothing But the Truth - Rubén Blades
Yo Frankie - Dion DiMucci (1989)
Street Fighting Years -
Simple Minds (1989) "This Is Your Land"
I Spent a Week There the Other Night - Maureen Tucker (1991)
I Still Believe in You -
Vince Gill (1992)
A Date with The Smithereens - The Smithereens (1994) "Point of No Return" and "Long Way Back Again"
Greetings from the Gutter -
David A. Stewart (1994)
Sweet Relief: A Benefit for
Victoria Williams (1996)
Lost Highway -
Various Artists (1997) "This Magic Moment"
Music for Children - John Zorn (1998) "Cycles Du Nord"
Hitting the Ground -
Gordon Gano (2002) "Catch 'Em In the Act"
No Regrets - Jamie Richards (2002)
No Balance Palace -
Kashmir (2005) "Black Building"
I Am a Bird Now - Antony and the Johnsons (2005) "Fistful of Love"
I Will Break Your Fall - Fernando Saunders (2006)[49]
Intersections 1985-2005 -
Bruce Hornsby (2006) "The Mighty Quinn"
A Portrait of
Howard -
Howard Tate (2006)
Sawdust - The
Killers (2007) "
Tranquilize"
The Family Album - Lucibel Crater (2007) "Threadbare Funeral"
Recitement - Stephen Emmer (2008)
Solid Ground - Sara Wasserman (Rob Wasserman' daughter) (2009)
Havana Winter -
Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle (2009) "Coma", "In The Shade" and "Helicopter in the Sand"
Plastic Beach -
Gorillaz (2010) "Some Kind of Nature"
The Road from
Memphis - Booker T. Jones (2011) "The Bronx"
Rave On
Buddy Holly -
Various Artists (2011) "Peggy Sue"
Synthetica -
Metric (2012) "The Wanderlust"
Appearances in film
One
Trick Pony (1980) as Steve Kunelian
Get Crazy (1983) as Auden
Rock & Rule (1983) as Mok's singing voice
Permanent Record (1988) as himself
Faraway, So Close! (1993) as himself
Blue in the Face (1995) as "Man with Strange Glasses"
Closure (1997) as himself
Prozac Nation (2001) as himself
Berlin: Live At St. Ann's Warehouse (2008)
Palermo Shooting (2008) as himself.
