Lou Reed

Nov 9, 2022: Under The Radar: Lou Reed – Reflecting on the 50th Anniversary of “Transformer”
Effectively closing what had been a key year in glam rock, Lou Reed’s sophomore solo effort Transformer swiftly left its mark upon the face of popular culture, with the former Velvet Underground frontman introducing his grittily transgressive artistic sensibilities to a fresh decade. Despite having recorded four of the greatest albums in the history of rock music with his group, Reed’s increasingly volatile relationship with his bandmates and associates had eventually resulted in a falling out between he and one-time producer and promoter Andy Warhol in 1967, as well as the ousting of group co-founder John Cale the following year, before Reed’s own departure in 1970.

Passages: Lou Reed: Oct 27, 2013

Lou Reed, the singer, songwriter and guitarist whose work with the Velvet Underground in the 1960s had an impact on generations of rock musicians, and who remained a powerful if polarizing force for the rest of his life, died on Sunday at his home in Southampton, N.Y., on Long Island. He was 71. The cause was liver disease, said Dr. Charles Miller of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where Mr. Reed had liver transplant surgery earlier this year and was being treated again until a few days ago. “I’ve always believed that there’s an amazing number of things you can do through a rock ‘n’ roll song,” Mr. Reed once told the journalist Kristine McKenna, “and that you can do serious writing in a rock song if you can somehow do it without losing the beat. The things I’ve written about wouldn’t be considered a big deal if they appeared in a book or movie.”