Lewis Allan Lou Reed (March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013) was an American rock musician and songwriter.[1] After being guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of the Velvet Underground, his solo career spanned several decades. The Velvet Underground were a commercial failure in the late 1960s, but 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[2] – hence Brian Enos famous quote that while the Velvet Undergrounds debut album only sold 30,000 copies, everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band.[3] 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, but subsequently lacked the mainstream commercial success its chart status seemed to indicate.[4] 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.[5] Reed was known for his distinctive deadpan voice, poetic lyrics and for pioneering and coining the term ostrich guitar tuning.[6]
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 07:38:40 +0000
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