Music legend and Rock and Roll innovator Lou Reed has passed away at the age of 71. It’s kind of hard for me to wrap my head around the news, despite Reed‘s advanced age and despite the fact that he survived a liver transplant earlier this year … for some reason, Lou was one of those rockers that I kind of assumed would live forever. At this point, no cause of death has yet been revealed but news of his death today comes with the caveat of the aforementioned liver transplant (ie. the assumption is that he may have passed away due to complications from the surgery earlier this year). As a voice of The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed stands as a giant of Rock and Roll. As a solo artist, he stands as a giant among mankind. As a man, he will forever stand as one of the coolest humans to walk planet Earth.
Lou Reed has died aged 71. According to Rolling Stone, the cause of death is currently unknown, however, the legendary singer had a liver transplant last May (2013). At the time of the operation, his wife suggested that he might not “ever totally recover”. Reed later posted a message to fans on Facebook, where he described himself as a “triumph of modern medicine” and announced that he is looking forward to playing live again. He also returned to the stage on June 20, but in July he was rushed to hospital with “severe dehydration”. Earlier today, the following picture was posted on Lou Reed’s official Facebook page:
Reed was an incredibly gifted singer, songwriter and musician who influenced generations of artists. Most famously known for his time in The Velvet Underground, Reed also had great success as a solo artist, with his second solo album ‘Transformer’ spawning world-renowned hits ‘Walk On The Wild Side’ and ‘Perfect Day’.
Here is an excerpt from Rolling Stone magazine’s excellent obituary:
Lewis Allan “Lou” Reed was born in Brooklyn, in 1942. A fan of doo-wop and early rock & roll (he movingly inducted Dion into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989), Reed also took formative inspiration during his studies at Syracuse University with the poet Delmore Schwartz. After college, he worked as a staff songwriter for the novelty label Pickwick Records (where he had a minor hit in 1964 with a dance-song parody called “The Ostrich”). In the mid-Sixties, Reed befriended Welsh musician John Cale, a classically trained violist who had performed with groundbreaking minimalist composer La Monte Young. Reed and Cale formed a band called the Primitives, then changed their name to the Warlocks. After meeting guitarist Sterling Morrison and drummer Maureen Tucker, they became the Velvet Underground. With a stark sound and ominous look, the band caught the attention of Andy Warhol, who incorporated the Velvets into his Exploding Plastic Inevitable. “Andy would show his movies on us,” Reed said. “We wore black so you could see the movie. But we were all wearing black anyway.”
The full text of this RS obit can be read HERE. I urge you to take the time to read it the whole way thru. Lou Reed … man, he was definitely one of the greats. A great light has gone out of this world. He will be missed but his influence on Rock will never, ever be forgotten. Rest well, Lou.
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