On stage, Lou Reed often looked as if he didn't want to be there. Sunglasses, a still face, a dry voice and songs about people that pop music usually leaves out of the frame. It is this distance that becomes his strength. On October 27, 2013, the American musician died at the age of 71, but he left behind a catalog that continues to sound like an invitation to an unknown part of the city.
From Brooklyn to The Velvet Underground
Louis Allen Reed was born on March 2, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Freeport, Long Island. He studied English literature at Syracuse University, where he became close to the poet Delmore Schwartz. Literature remained an important part of his songwriting: Reed did not simply describe feelings, but also built characters, scenes and short urban stories.
In 1965, he formed The Velvet Underground with John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker. The group was unlike the popular rock bands of the era. Its music featured avant-garde noises, monotonous rhythms and lyrics about drugs, sexuality, violence and loneliness.
Andy Warhol noticed the group and made them part of his artistic circle. Nico joined the band, and the debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico was released in 1967 with the famous banana cover designed by Warhol. Initially, the album was not a great commercial success, but its influence gradually grew. The band released four studio albums before breaking up in 1970.
A solo career without a desire for comfort
After The Velvet Underground, Reed began a solo career and in 1972 recorded Transformer with David Bowie. The album brought him to a wider audience, and "Walk on the Wild Side" became his highest-charting song in the US, reaching number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
However, success did not force him to follow the same formula. In 1975, he released the double album Metal Machine Music - a radical experiment with guitar noise that still divides listeners today. Later came albums like 1989's New York, in which the city is once again not just a backdrop, but a protagonist.
Reed sums up his attitude towards music with his typical laconicism. "One chord is enough. Two is the limit. At three you're already entering jazz," he told the Los Angeles Times.
The final period
In 2011, Reed recorded Lulu with Metallica. Two years later, he underwent a liver transplant. He died on October 27, 2013, at the age of 71.
Lou Reed was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1996, and The Velvet Underground received the same recognition the same year. In 2015, he was also honored as a member of the group. The most accurate explanation for his place in history may lie beyond the statistics: Reed gave a stage to characters that, until then, almost no one wanted to listen to.
Sources: latimes.com, theguardian.com, forward.com