The Velvet Underground
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Velvet Underground was an American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
, multi-instrumentalist
John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
, guitarist
Sterling Morrison Holmes Sterling Morrison Jr. (August 29, 1942 – August 30, 1995) was an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the rock group the Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, a ...
, and drummer
Angus MacLise Angus William MacLise (March 14, 1938 – June 21, 1979) was an American percussionist, composer, poet, occultist and calligrapher, known as the first drummer for the Velvet Underground who abruptly quit due to disagreements with the band pla ...
. MacLise was replaced by
Moe Tucker Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...
in 1965, who played on most of the band's recordings. Their integration of rock and the
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
achieved little commercial success during the group's existence, but they are now recognized as one of the most influential bands in rock,
underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...
,
experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...
, and
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
music. The group's provocative subject matter, musical experiments, and often
nihilistic Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning of life, meaning. The term was pop ...
attitudes also proved influential in the development of punk rock and
new wave music New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. La ...
. The group performed under several names before settling on the Velvet Underground in 1965, inspired by the book of the same name. In 1966, pop artist
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
became their manager, and they served as the house band at Warhol's studio,
the Factory The Factory was Andy Warhol's studio in New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famed for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities and Warhol's superstar ...
, and his traveling multimedia show, the ''
Exploding Plastic Inevitable The ''Exploding Plastic Inevitable'', sometimes simply called ''Plastic Inevitable'' or ''EPI'', was a series of multimedia events organized by Andy Warhol in 1966 and 1967, featuring musical performances by The Velvet Underground & Nico, screenin ...
'', from 1966 to 1967. Their debut album, ''
The Velvet Underground & Nico ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' is the debut album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground and German singer Nico, released in March 1967 through Verve Records. It was recorded in 1966 while the band were featured on Andy Warhol's Ex ...
'' (with German singer and model
Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pl ...
), was released in 1967 to critical indifference and poor sales but has since drawn wide acclaim. They released three more albums, ''
White Light/White Heat ''White Light/White Heat'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released on January 30, 1968, on Verve Records, it was the band's last studio recording with multi-instrumentalist and founding member John Cal ...
'' (1968), ''
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...
'' (1969), and '' Loaded'' (1970), with
Doug Yule Douglas Alan Yule (born February 25, 1947) is an American musician and singer, most notable for being a member of the Velvet Underground from 1968 to 1973 serving as the bassist, guitarist and occasional lead vocalist. Biography Early life Doug ...
replacing Cale for the final two, and with none performing up to the expectations of record labels or of Reed, the band's leader. The group functionally disbanded in the early 1970s as everyone except Yule left the band. An abortive UK tour with Yule as the band leader and with new musicians followed in 1973, and a final album released in the band's name, '' Squeeze'' (1973), consisting mostly of Yule with a few session musicians, marked the end of the band for some time. All of the members continued to collaborate on each other's solo work throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and a retrospective "rarities" album, '' VU'', was released in 1985. A full reunion of the band came in the early 1990s, with the Reed-Cale-Tucker-Morrison lineup playing a series of well-received shows in 1993, and releasing a live album from the tour, ''
Live MCMXCIII ''Live MCMXCIII'' ("1993" in Roman numerals) is a live album by the Velvet Underground. It was released simultaneously in single and double CD/ cassette formats on October 26, 1993, by Sire Records, then DVD format on January 24, 2006. The singl ...
''. After Morrison's death in 1995, the remaining three members played together for a single performance at their
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
induction in 1996, the last time the band performed together musically. In 2004, the Velvet Underground were ranked number 19 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the " 100 Greatest Artists of All Time". ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote that the Velvet Underground was "arguably the most influential American rock band of our time".


History


Pre-career and early stages (1964–1966)

The foundations for what would become the Velvet Underground were laid in late 1964. Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
had performed with a few short-lived
garage bands Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
and had worked as a songwriter for
Pickwick Records Pickwick Records was an American record label and British record distributor known for its budget album releases of sound-alike recordings, bargain bin reissues and repackagings under the brands Design, Bravo (later changing its name to Internati ...
(Reed described his tenure there as being "a poor man's
Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...
").
David Fricke David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...
,
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...
for the ''
Peel Slowly and See ''Peel Slowly and See'' is a five-disc box set of material by the Velvet Underground. It was released in September 1995 by Polydor. Compilation The name of this box set comes from the instruction presented on vinyl copies of the band's debut alb ...
''
box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...
(Polydor, 1995).
Reed met
John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
, a Welshman who had moved to the United States to study classical music upon securing a
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
scholarship. Cale had worked with experimental composers
John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
,
Cornelius Cardew Cornelius Cardew (7 May 193613 December 1981) was an English experimental music composer, and founder (with Howard Skempton and Michael Parsons) of the Scratch Orchestra, an experimental performing ensemble. He later rejected experimental music, ...
and
La Monte Young La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American composer, musician, and performance artist recognized as one of the first American minimalist composers and a central figure in Fluxus and post-war avant-garde music. He is best kno ...
, and had performed with Young's
Theatre of Eternal Music The Theatre of Eternal Music (later sometimes called The Dream Syndicate) was an avant-garde musical group formed by La Monte Young in New York City in 1962. The core of the group consisted of Young (voice, saxophone), Tony Conrad (violin), ...
, though was also interested in rock music. Young's use of extended drones would be a profound influence on the band's early sound. Cale was pleasantly surprised to discover that Reed's experimentalist tendencies were similar to his own: Reed sometimes used alternative guitar tunings to create a droning sound. The pair rehearsed and performed together; their partnership and shared interests built the path towards what would later become the Velvet Underground. Reed's first group with Cale was the Primitives, a short-lived group assembled to issue budget-priced recordings and support an anti-dance single written by Reed, "The Ostrich", to which Cale added a viola passage. Reed and Cale recruited
Sterling Morrison Holmes Sterling Morrison Jr. (August 29, 1942 – August 30, 1995) was an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the rock group the Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, a ...
—a college classmate of Reed's at
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
—as a replacement for
Walter De Maria Walter Joseph De Maria Roberta Smith (July 26, 2013)Walter De Maria, Artist on Grand Scale, Dies at 77 '' New York Times''. (October 1, 1935July 25, 2013) was an American artist, sculptor, illustrator and composer, who lived and worked in New Y ...
, who had been a third member of the Primitives. Reed and Morrison both played guitars, Cale played viola, keyboards and bass and
Angus MacLise Angus William MacLise (March 14, 1938 – June 21, 1979) was an American percussionist, composer, poet, occultist and calligrapher, known as the first drummer for the Velvet Underground who abruptly quit due to disagreements with the band pla ...
joined on percussion to complete the initial four-member unit. This quartet was first called the Warlocks, then the Falling Spikes. ''
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...
'' by Michael Leigh was a contemporary mass market paperback about the secret sexual subculture of the early 1960s; Cale's friend and
Dream Syndicate A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, alth ...
associate
Tony Conrad Anthony Schmalz Conrad (March 7, 1940 – April 9, 2016) was an American video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician, composer, sound artist, teacher, and writer. Active in a variety of media since the early 1960s, he was a pioneer of both ...
showed it to the group, and MacLise made a suggestion to adopt the title as the band's name. According to Reed and Morrison, the group liked the name, considering it evocative of "underground cinema", and fitting, as Reed had already written "
Venus in Furs ''Venus in Furs'' (german: Venus im Pelz, links=no) is a novella by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and the best known of his works. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called '' Legacy of Cai ...
", a song inspired by
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch (; 27 January 1836 – 9 March 1895) was an Austrian nobleman, writer and journalist, who gained renown for his romantic stories of Galician life. The term ''masochism'' is derived from his name, invented by h ...
's book of the same name, which dealt with masochism. The band immediately and unanimously adopted ''The Velvet Underground'' as its new name in November 1965. The newly named Velvet Underground rehearsed and performed in New York City. Their music was generally much more relaxed than it would later become: Cale described this era as reminiscent of
beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...
poetry, with MacLise playing gentle "pitter and patter rhythms behind the drone".Quoted by David Fricke in his liner notes for the ''Peel Slowly and See'' box set (
Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
, 1995).
In July 1965, Reed, Cale and Morrison recorded a
demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...
at their
Ludlow Street Ludlow Street runs between Houston and Division Streets on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Vehicular traffic runs south on this one-way street. Name Ludlow Street was named after Lieutenant Augustus Ludlow, the naval of ...
loft without MacLise, because he refused to be tied down to a schedule and would turn up to band practice sessions only when he wanted. When he briefly returned to Britain, Cale attempted to give a copy of the tape to
Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...
, hoping she would pass it on to
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
, lead singer of
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
. Nothing ever came of this, but the demo was eventually released on the 1995 box set ''Peel Slowly and See''. Manager and music journalist Al Aronowitz arranged for the group's first paying gig— $75 ($ in dollars) to play at Summit High School, in Summit, New Jersey, opening for
the Myddle Class The Myddle Class was an American garage rock band from Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, which was active in the 1960s. Signed to Tomorrow Records which was owned by the songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King, they were one of the most popular live ...
. When they decided to take the gig, MacLise abruptly left the group, protesting what he considered a
sellout "Selling out", or "sold out" in the past tense, is a common expression for the compromising of a person's integrity, morality, authenticity, or principles by forgoing the long-term benefits of the collective or group in exchange for personal ga ...
; he was also unwilling to be told when to start and stop playing. "Angus was in it for art", Morrison reported. MacLise was replaced by Maureen "Moe" Tucker, the younger sister of Morrison's friend Jim Tucker. Tucker's playing style was rather unusual: she generally played standing up rather than seated and had an abbreviated drum setup of
tom-toms A tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snares, named from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala language. It was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between in diameter, though floor toms can go as l ...
,
snare SNARE proteins – " SNAP REceptor" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts, more than 60 members in mammalian cells, and some numbers in plants. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to mediate vesicle fu ...
and an upturned
bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...
, using
mallets A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and propor ...
as often as drumsticks, and rarely using
cymbals A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...
(she admits that she always hated cymbals). When the band asked her to do something unusual, she turned her bass drum on its side and played standing up. After her drums were stolen from one club, she replaced them with garbage cans brought in from outside. Her rhythms, at once simple and exotic (influenced by the likes of
Babatunde Olatunji Michael Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927 – April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist, and recording artist. Early life Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Nige ...
and
Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...
as well as Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones), became a vital part of the group's music, despite Cale's initial objections to the presence of a female drummer. The group earned a regular paying gig at the Café Bizarre and gained an early reputation as a promising ensemble.


Andy Warhol and the ''Exploding Plastic Inevitable'' (1966–1967)

In 1965, after being introduced to the Velvet Underground by filmmaker
Barbara Rubin Barbara Rubin (1945–1980) was an American filmmaker and performance artist. She is best known for her landmark 1963 underground film ''Christmas on Earth''. Life and career Barbara Rubin grew up in the Cambria Heights neighborhood of Queens, ...
, Andy Warhol became the band's manager and suggested they use the German-born singer
Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pl ...
(born Christa Päffgen) on several songs. Warhol's reputation helped the band gain a higher profile. He helped the band secure a recording contract with MGM's Verve Records, with himself as nominal " producer", and gave the Velvets free rein over the sound they created. During their stay with Andy Warhol, the band became part of his multimedia roadshow, ''
Exploding Plastic Inevitable The ''Exploding Plastic Inevitable'', sometimes simply called ''Plastic Inevitable'' or ''EPI'', was a series of multimedia events organized by Andy Warhol in 1966 and 1967, featuring musical performances by The Velvet Underground & Nico, screenin ...
'', which combined Warhol's films with the band's music, which made use of minimalist devices, such as drones. Warhol included the band with his show in an effort to "use rock as a part of a larger, interdisciplinary-art work based around performance" (McDonald). They played shows for several months in New York City, then traveled throughout the United States and Canada until its last installment in May 1967. During a short period in September 1966, when Cale was ill, the avant-garde musician
Henry Flynt Henry Flynt (born 1940 in Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American philosopher, musician, writer, activist, and artist connected to the 1960s New York avant-garde. He coined the term "concept art" in the early 1960s, during which time he was a ...
and Reed's friend Richard Mishkin took turns to cover for him. The show included 16 mm film projections by Warhol, combined with a stroboscopic-light show designed by Danny Williams. Because of the punishing lights, the band took to wearing sunglasses onstage. Early promo posters referred to the group as the "erupting plastic inevitable". This soon changed to "the exploding plastic inevitable". In 1966, MacLise temporarily rejoined the Velvet Underground for a few ''EPI'' shows when Reed was suffering from
hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pa ...
and unable to perform. For these appearances, Cale sang and played organ, Tucker switched to bass guitar and MacLise was on drums. Also at these appearances, the band often played an extended jam they had dubbed "Booker T", after musician
Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...
. Some of these performances have been released as a
bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...
; they remain the only record of MacLise with the Velvet Underground. According to Morrison, MacLise is said to have regretted leaving the Velvet Underground and wanted to rejoin, but Reed specifically prohibited this and made it clear that this stint was only temporary. MacLise still behaved eccentrically with time and commerce and went by his own clock: for instance, he showed up half an hour late to one show and carried on with a half-hour of drumming to compensate for his late arrival, long after the set had finished. In December 1966, Warhol and David Dalton designed Issue 3 of the multimedia ''Aspen''. Included in this issue of the "magazine", which retailed at $4 ($ in dollars) per copy and was packaged in a hinged box designed to look like Fab laundry detergent, were various leaflets and booklets, one of which was a commentary on rock and roll by Lou Reed, another an ''EPI'' promotional newspaper. Also enclosed was a 2-sided
flexi disk The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable. ...
: side one produced by Peter Walker, a musical associate of
Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...
; and side two titled "Loop", credited to the Velvet Underground but actually recorded by Cale alone. "Loop", a recording solely of pulsating
audio feedback Audio feedback (also known as acoustic feedback, simply as feedback) is a positive feedback situation which may occur when an acoustic path exists between an audio input (for example, a microphone or guitar pickup) and an audio output (for exa ...
culminating in a
locked groove The overwhelming majority of records manufactured have been of certain sizes (7, 10, or 12 inches), playback speeds (33, 45, or 78 RPM), and appearance (round black discs). However, since the commercial adoption of the gramophone record (ca ...
, was "a precursor to eed's''
Metal Machine Music ''Metal Machine Music'' (subtitled ''*The Amine β Ring'') is the fifth studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed. It was recorded on a three-speed Uher machine and was mastered/engineered by Bob Ludwig. It was released as a double album ...
''", say Velvets archivists M.C. Kostek and Phil Milstein in the book ''The Velvet Underground Companion''. "Loop" also predates much
industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...
.


''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' (1967)

At Warhol's insistence, Nico sang with the band on three songs of their debut album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. The album was recorded primarily in Scepter Studios in New York City during April 1966, but for reasons unclear, some songs were rerecorded at
TTG Studios TTG Studios was a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, co-founded in 1965 by recording engineers Tom Hidley and Amnon "Ami" Hadani. History The studio was located at 1441 North McCadden Place in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, n ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, along with the new song " Sunday Morning", later in the year with Tom Wilson producing. The album was released by Verve Records the following year in March 1967. The album cover is famous for its Warhol design: a yellow banana sticker with "Peel slowly and see" printed near the tip. Those who did remove the banana skin found a pink, peeled banana beneath. Eleven songs showcased the Velvets' dynamic range, veering from the pounding attacks of "
I'm Waiting for the Man "I'm Waiting for the Man" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Written by Lou Reed, it was first released on their 1967 debut album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. The lyrics describe a man's efforts to obtain heroin in ...
" and " Run Run Run", the droning "Venus in Furs" and "
Heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
", the chiming and celestial "Sunday Morning", to the quiet "
Femme Fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...
" and the tender "
I'll Be Your Mirror "I'll Be Your Mirror" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico. It appeared on their 1967 debut album ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. It also surfaced as a single a year earlier with "All Tomorrow's Parties" in 1966. Lou Reed wrote the so ...
", as well as Warhol's own favorite song of the group, "
All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...
".
Kurt Loder Kurtis Loder (born May 5, 1945) is an American entertainment critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at ''Rolling Stone'', during a tenure that ''Reason'' later called "legendary". He has contribute ...
would later describe "All Tomorrow's Parties" as a "mesmerizing gothic-rock masterpiece".Kurt Loder, "Liner notes – ''V.U.'' CD by the Velvet Underground", December 1984, Verve Records – 823 721-2 Europe, "a mesmerizing gothic-rock masterpiece ("All Tomorrow's Parties" – Warhol's favorite Velvets Tune). Closing out the album was the avant-garde "
The Black Angel's Death Song "The Black Angel's Death Song" is a song by the Velvet Underground, from their 1967 debut album '' The Velvet Underground & Nico''. It was written by Lou Reed and John Cale. In a footnote to the lyrics, Lou Reed wrote: "The idea here was to str ...
", followed by the lengthy, feedback-laden " European Son", which Reed dedicated to his Syracuse professor
Delmore Schwartz Delmore Schwartz (December 8, 1913 – July 11, 1966) was an American poet and short story writer. Early life Schwartz was born in 1913 in Brooklyn, New York, where he also grew up. His parents, Harry and Rose, both Romanian Jews, separated when ...
. The overall sound was propelled by Reed and Nico's deadpan vocals, Cale's droning viola, bass and keyboards, Reed's experimental avant-garde guitar, Morrison's often R&B- or
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
-influenced guitar, and Tucker's simple but steady and tribal-sounding beat with sparse use of cymbals. A technique used on many songs was the "drone strum", an eighth-note rhythm guitar style used by Reed. Although Cale was the band's usual bassist, if he switched to viola or keyboards, Morrison would normally play bass. Despite his proficiency on the instrument, Morrison hated playing bass. Conversely, some songs had Reed and Morrison playing their usual guitars with Cale on viola or keyboards, but with nobody playing bass. The album was released on March 12, 1967 (after a lengthy delay by Verve), and reached No. 171 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top 200 charts. The commercial growth of the album was hampered by a legal claim: as the album's back cover included a photo of the group on stage with an unauthorised image projected behind them of actor
Eric Emerson Eric Emerson (June 23, 1945 – May 28, 1975) was an American musician, dancer, and actor. Emerson is best known for his roles in films by pop artist Andy Warhol, and as a member of the seminal glam punk group the Magic Tramps. Career Growing ...
from a Warhol motion picture, ''
Chelsea Girls ''Chelsea Girls'' is a 1966 American experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films (both feature-length and short). It w ...
'', Emerson made a claim of $500,000 ($ in dollars) for use of his image. Instead of compensating Emerson for damages, MGM Records canceled all distribution of the album for nearly two months until the legal problems were settled (by which time the record had lost its modest commercial momentum), and the still was airbrushed out of the remaining copies of the album. By the time the record was re-distributed into stores, it faced stiff competition in the marketplace. The album was re-distributed at nearly the same time as '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' in June 1967, which further hindered the release. Regarding MGM/Verve's delay in releasing the album, Warhol's business manager Paul Morrissey once offered the following: "Verve/MGM didn't know what to do with ''The Velvet Underground and Nico'' because it was so peculiar. They did not release it for almost a year. Tom Wilson at Verve/MGM only bought the album from me because of Nico. He saw no talent in Lou eed" In 1982,
Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
said that while the album sold only 30,000 copies in its early years, "everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band."


''White Light/White Heat'' and Cale's departure (1968)

Nico moved on after the Velvets severed their relationship with Andy Warhol. Reed once commented on their leaving Warhol: "He sat down and had a talk with me. 'You gotta decide what you want to do. Do you want to keep just playing museums from now on and the art festivals? Or do you want to start moving into other areas? Lou, don't you think you should think about it?' So I thought about it, and I fired him. Because I thought that was one of the things to do if we were going to move away from that…" Steve Sesnick was soon brought in as a replacement manager, much to the chagrin of Cale, who believes that Sesnick tried to push Reed as band leader at the expense of band harmony. Both Cale and Reed called Sesnick a "snake" in different interviews after leaving the band. In September 1967, the Velvet Underground began recording their second album, ''
White Light/White Heat ''White Light/White Heat'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released on January 30, 1968, on Verve Records, it was the band's last studio recording with multi-instrumentalist and founding member John Cal ...
'', with Tom Wilson as producer. The band performed live often, and their performances became louder and harsher and often included extended
improvisations Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
. Warhol arranged for the band to get an endorsement deal with Vox to enable them to use Vox equipment, including special effects pedals and an organ, for free. Sterling Morrison believed they were the first American band to get a Vox endorsement. Sterling Morrison offered the following input regarding the recording:
There was fantastic leakage 'cause everyone was playing so loud and we had so much electronic junk with us in the studio—all these fuzzers and compressors.
Gary Kellgren Gary Kellgren (April 7, 1939 – July 20, 1977) was an American audio engineer and co-founder of The Record Plant recording studios, along with businessman Chris Stone. Career Engineering Kellgren was a successful and well respected audio en ...
, who is ultra-competent, told us repeatedly: "You can't do it—all the needles are on red." and we reacted as we always reacted: "Look, we don't know what goes on in there and we don't want to hear about it. Just do the best you can." And so the album is fuzzy, there's all that white noise...we wanted to do something electronic and energetic. We had the energy and the electronics, but we didn't know it couldn't be recorded...what we were trying to do was really fry the tracks.
Cale has said that while the debut had some moments of fragility and beauty, ''White Light/White Heat'' was "consciously anti-beauty". The title track sets a harsh opening; bassist Cale overdubbing a piano that has been described as "a cross between
Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...
and
Henry Cowell Henry Dixon Cowell (; March 11, 1897 – December 10, 1965) was an American composer, writer, pianist, publisher and teacher. Marchioni, Tonimarie (2012)"Henry Cowell: A Life Stranger Than Fiction" ''The Juilliard Journal''. Retrieved 19 June 202 ...
". Along with brash songs like "
Sister Ray "Sister Ray" is a song by the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist S ...
" and "
I Heard Her Call My Name "I Heard Her Call My Name" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground. It is the fifth track from the band's second album, ''White Light/White Heat''. It is a particularly loud, brash and aggressive song that features a pair of atonal g ...
", there was the darkly comic " The Gift", a short story written by Reed and narrated by Cale in his
deadpan Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant to be blun ...
Welsh accent Welsh English ( cy, Saesneg Gymreig) comprises the dialects of English spoken by Welsh people. The dialects are significantly influenced by Welsh grammar and often include words derived from Welsh. In addition to the distinctive words and gr ...
. The meditative "Here She Comes Now" was later covered by
Galaxie 500 Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums: ''Today'', '' On Fire'' and '' This Is Our Music''. The band was made up of guitarist/vocalist Dean Wareham, drummer Damon ...
, Cabaret Voltaire, and
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
, among others. The album was released on January 30, 1968, entering the ''Billboard'' Top 200 chart for two weeks, at number 199. Tensions were growing: the group was tired of receiving little recognition for its work, and Reed and Cale were pulling the Velvet Underground in different directions. The differences showed in the last recording sessions the band had with John Cale in 1968: three pop-like songs in Reed's direction ("Temptation Inside Your Heart", "Stephanie Says" and "Beginning to See the Light") and a viola-driven drone in Cale's direction ("Hey Mr. Rain"). Further, some songs the band had performed with Cale in concert, or that he had co-written, were not recorded until after he had left the group (such as "Walk It and Talk It", "Ride into the Sun", and "Countess from Hong Kong"). Reed called Morrison and Tucker to a meeting at the Riviera Cafe in the
West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, 14th Street (Manhattan ...
without Cale's knowledge, and informed them that Cale was out of the band; when Morrison objected, Reed said it was either Cale was sacked or the Velvets were dissolved. Neither Morrison nor Tucker was happy with the idea, but faced with a choice of either no Cale or no band at all, the pair reluctantly sided with Reed. It has often been reported that before Cale's departure (following ''White Light/White Heat'') there was a struggle between his creative impulses and Reed's: Cale's experimentalist tendencies had contrasted with Reed's more conventional approach. According to Tim Mitchell, however, Morrison reported that while there was creative tension between Reed and Cale, its effects have been exaggerated over the years. Cale played his last show with the band at the
Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell t ...
in September 1968 and was fired shortly afterwards. According to Michael Carlucci, a friend of Robert Quine, "Lou told Quine that the reason why he had to get rid of Cale in the band was Cale's ideas were just too out there. Cale had some wacky ideas. He wanted to record the next album with the amplifiers underwater, and oujust couldn't have it. He was trying to make the band more accessible." Ultimately, Morrison was dispatched by Reed to tell Cale that he was out of the band.


Doug Yule joins and ''The Velvet Underground'' (1969)

Before work on their third album started, Cale was replaced by musician
Doug Yule Douglas Alan Yule (born February 25, 1947) is an American musician and singer, most notable for being a member of the Velvet Underground from 1968 to 1973 serving as the bassist, guitarist and occasional lead vocalist. Biography Early life Doug ...
of the Boston group the Grass Menagerie, who had been a close associate of the band. Yule, a native New Yorker, had moved to Boston to attend
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
as a theater major, but left the program after one year to continue playing music. Yule had first seen the Velvets perform at a student event at Harvard University in Cambridge in early 1968, and when the band played at the Boston Tea Party later that year, the band stayed at Yule's apartment on River Street, which he happened to be renting from their road manager, Hans Onsager (who worked closely with their manager Steve Sesnick). It was during this period that Morrison heard Yule playing guitar in his apartment, and mentioned to Reed that Yule was practicing guitar and was improving quickly. It was following this discussion that led to a phone call from Steve Sesnick inviting Yule to meet with the band at
Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decembe ...
in New York City in October 1968 to discuss joining the Velvets before two upcoming shows in Cleveland, Ohio, at the club La Cave. Upon meeting Reed, Sesnick and Morrison at Max's, Yule was asked to handle bass and organ duties in the band, and he would soon contribute vocals as well. After several months of shows in the US, the band swiftly recorded their third album ''
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...
'' in late 1968 at
TTG Studios TTG Studios was a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, co-founded in 1965 by recording engineers Tom Hidley and Amnon "Ami" Hadani. History The studio was located at 1441 North McCadden Place in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, n ...
in Hollywood, California. It was released in March 1969. The cover photograph was taken by
Billy Name William George Linich (February 22, 1940 – July 18, 2016), known professionally as Billy Name, was an American photographer, filmmaker, and lighting designer. He was the archivist of The Factory from 1964 to 1970. His brief romance and subsequ ...
. The LP sleeve was designed by Dick Smith, then a staff artist at MGM/Verve. Released on March 12, 1969, the album failed to make ''Billboards Top 200 album chart. The harsh, abrasive tendencies on the first two records were almost entirely absent on their third album. This resulted in a gentler sound influenced by
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
, prescient of the songwriting style that would soon form Reed's solo career. While Reed had covered a vast range of lyrical subjects on the first two Velvet Underground albums, the lyrical themes of the third album were more "intimate" in nature. Reed's songwriting also covered new emotional ground as well, as heard in the songs "
Pale Blue Eyes "Pale Blue Eyes" is a song written and sung by Lou Reed and performed by The Velvet Underground. He recorded a demo with John Cale in May 1965. It was included on the band's 1969 album ''The Velvet Underground''. Despite the name, "Pale Blue Eye ...
", "Jesus", "Beginning to See the Light", and "I'm Set Free". The personal tone of the album's subject matter resulted in Reed's desire to create a "closet" mix that boosted the vocals to the forefront, while reducing the album's instrumentation. The second (and more widely distributed) mix is the stereo mix done by MGM/Verve staff recording engineer Val Valentin. Another factor in the change of sound was the band's Vox amplifiers and assorted fuzzboxes were rumored to have been stolen from an airport while they were on tour and they obtained replacements by signing a new endorsement deal with
Sunn Sunn (stylized in all lowercase) amplifiers was a brand of musical instrument amplifiers based in Tualatin, Oregon, United States. History In early 1963, the Kingsmen, a band based in Portland, Oregon, became known for their hit version of ...
. In addition, Reed and Morrison had purchased matching Fender 12-string electric guitars, but Doug Yule plays down the influence of the new equipment. Morrison's ringing guitar parts and Yule's melodic bass guitar and harmony vocals are used prominently on the album. Reed's songs and singing are subdued and confessional in nature, and he shared lead vocals with Yule, particularly when his own voice would fail under stress. Doug Yule sang the lead vocal on "Candy Says" (about the
Warhol superstar Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by the pop artist Andy Warhol during the 1960s and early 1970s. These personalities appeared in Warhol's artworks and accompanied him in his social life, epitomizing his fam ...
Candy Darling Candy Darling (November 24, 1944 – March 21, 1974) was an American actress, best known as a Warhol superstar and transgender icon. She starred in Andy Warhol's films ''Flesh'' (1968) and '' Women in Revolt'' (1971), and was a muse of The Velve ...
), which opens the LP, and a rare Moe Tucker lead vocal is used on "After Hours", which closes the album, because Reed felt her "innocent" voice was more believable for a sad song. The album has the experimental track "The Murder Mystery", which utilised all four band members (Reed, Yule, Tucker and Morrison) reading different lyrics, sometimes simultaneously, as well as the ballad "Pale Blue Eyes".


Year on the road and the "lost" fourth album (1969)

The Velvet Underground spent much of 1969 on the road both in the US and Canada, and not making much headway commercially. Despite these commercial setbacks, the band focused on performing live shows on the road, playing both re-worked songs from their past albums, and debuting new songs that would find their way onto the '' Loaded'' album, such as "New Age", "Rock and Roll", and "Sweet Jane". While the band continued to do extended improvisations in their live shows, by 1969 they were focusing on tight live performances, and several of the live shows the band played during this period would end up released as live albums many years later. The live album '' 1969: The Velvet Underground Live'' (with Reed, Yule, Morrison & Tucker) was recorded in October 1969 but not released until 1974, on Mercury Records, at the urging of rock critic Paul Nelson, who worked in A&R for Mercury at the time. Nelson asked singer-songwriter
Elliott Murphy Elliott James Murphy (born March 16, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, record producer and journalist living in Paris. Biography Elliott Murphy was born in Rockville Centre, New York, grew up in Garden City, Long Island ...
to write liner notes for the double album. In his notes, Murphy described a scene 100 years in the future, with a student taking a class on "classical rock'n'roll" and listening to the Velvet Underground. He wondered what the student would make of the music and concluded, "I wish it was a hundred years from today (I can't stand the suspense)". During this period the band played a series of shows in November 1969 at the Matrix and the Family Dog venues in San Francisco; recordings of these shows were released in 2001, as a triple live album, '' Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes'', which included the line up of Reed, Yule, Morrison and Tucker. During 1969 the band recorded on and off in the studio, creating a lot of promising material (both singles and one-offs) that were never officially released at the time due to disputes with their record label. What many consider to be the prime songs of these recording sessions were released years later, in 1985, in a compilation album called '' VU''. The album ''VU'' marks the transitional sound between the whisper-soft third album and the band's movement to the later pop rock song-style of their final record, '' Loaded''. Two of the songs the Velvets recorded during this period were later used on film soundtracks: "Stephanie Says" was used in the 2001 film ''
The Royal Tenenbaums ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. It stars Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen W ...
''; "I'm Sticking With You" has a rare Moe Tucker–Lou Reed dual-lead vocal track, with Doug Yule accompanying on piano, and was included in the film ''
Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...
''. The rest of the recordings, as well as some alternative takes and instrumental tracks were later bundled on '' Another View'' which was released in 1986. After Reed's departure, he later reworked a number of these songs for his solo records over the years: "Stephanie Says", "Ocean", "I Can't Stand It", "Lisa Says", and "Andy's Chest", as well as "She's My Best Friend", which had been originally sung by Doug Yule. By 1969 the MGM and Verve record labels had been losing money for several years. A new president,
Mike Curb Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American musician, record company executive, motorsports car owner, philanthropist, and former politician. He is also the founder of Curb Records where he presently serves as the chairman. Curb also ...
, was hired and he decided to cancel the recording contracts of 18 of their acts who supposedly glorified drugs in their lyrics, including their many controversial and unprofitable acts. The drug or
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
-related bands were released from MGM; nonetheless MGM insisted on retaining ownership of all master tapes of their recordings and according to an MGM representative in a ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' article from 1970, "it wasn't eighteen groups, urbwas misquoted. The cuts were made partly to do with the drug scene—like maybe a third of them had to do with drug reasons. The others were dropped because they weren't selling." Lou Reed would later remark in the 1987 issue of ''
Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential criti ...
'' that while he did not believe that MGM dropped the Velvets for drug associations, he did acknowledge, "We wanted to get out of there."


''Loaded'', Tucker's pregnancy and Max's residency (1970)

Cotillion Records Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records (from 1971 part of WEA) and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was formed as an outlet for pop, R&B, and jazz. Its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About a Mover", re ...
(a subsidiary of
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
that specialized in blues and
Southern soul Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated fro ...
) signed the Velvet Underground for what would be its final studio album with Lou Reed: ''Loaded''. The album's title refers to Atlantic's request that the band produce an album "loaded with hits". Though the record was not the smash hit the company had anticipated, it contains the most accessible pop the Velvet Underground had performed, and two of Reed's best-known songs, "Sweet Jane" and "Rock and Roll". By the recording of ''Loaded'', Doug Yule played a more prominent role in the band, and with Reed's encouragement, sang the lead vocal on four songs: "Who Loves the Sun", which opened the album, "New Age", "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" and the final track, "Oh! Sweet Nuthin". Yule once commented on the recording of ''Loaded'': "Lou leaned on me a lot in terms of musical support and for harmonies, vocal arrangements. I did a lot on ''Loaded''. It sort of devolved down to the Lou and Doug recreational recording." While the third Velvets' LP was recorded mostly live in a collaborative atmosphere, the bulk of ''Loaded'' was crafted in the studio. In addition to handling all the bass and piano duties on ''Loaded'', Yule also contributed several lead guitar parts and played drums on five of the album's ten tracks (most notably on the songs "Rock and Roll" and "Sweet Jane") since Moe Tucker (who was erroneously credited as the album's drummer, despite not playing on it) was absent on maternity leave to have her first child, a daughter named Kerry. Other drum parts were performed by engineer Adrian Barber, session musician Tommy Castanaro, and
Billy Yule William Yule (born c. 1954) is an American musician, best known for his brief stint as a temporary drummer for the Velvet Underground during their famous summer engagement 1970 at Max's Kansas City, sitting in for Maureen Tucker while she was on m ...
(Doug Yule's younger brother), who was still in high school at the time. During the sessions, Sterling Morrison resumed his undergraduate studies at the
City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
. Although he contributed guitar tracks to the album, he began to split his time between classes, the sessions and the gigs at Max's, thus leaving Reed and Yule to handle the bulk of the arrangements. It was during the ''Loaded'' recording sessions that the Velvets (with Billy Yule deputizing on drums) secured a now-legendary nine-week residency (from June 24 – August 28, 1970) at the New York nightclub
Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decembe ...
, playing two lengthy sets per night, and showcasing altered arrangements of older songs from their previous albums, as well as showcasing the new material that would soon make up ''Loaded''. Reed's last live performance with the band at Max's was informally recorded and was released two years later in 1972 as ''
Live at Max's Kansas City ''Live at Max's Kansas City'' is a live album by the Velvet Underground recorded at the famous nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was originally released on May 30, 1972, by Cotillion, a subsidiary label of A ...
'', also on Atlantic Records.


Reed's departure and release of ''Loaded'' (1970)

Disillusioned with the lack of progress the band was making, and facing pressure by manager Steve Sesnick, Reed decided to quit the band during the last week of the Max's Kansas City shows in August 1970. Although Reed had informed Tucker, who was attending the show but not playing with the band because of her pregnancy, that he planned to leave the group on his last evening, he did not tell Morrison or Yule. In a 2006 interview, Yule said Sesnick waited until one hour before the band was scheduled to take the stage the following night before notifying him that Reed was not coming. "I was expecting outo show up, I thought he was late." Yule blamed Sesnick for Reed's departure. "Sesnick had engineered Lou's leaving the group. He and Lou had a relationship where Lou had depended on him for moral support, and he trusted him, and Sesnick basically said 'screw you.' ... It must have been hard for Lou to hear that because he depended on him, so he quit." While ''Loaded'' was finalized and mixed, it had yet to be mastered and was not set to be released by Atlantic until November of that year. Reed often said he was completely surprised when he saw ''Loaded'' in stores. He also said, "I left them to their album full of hits that I made". Reed was perturbed about a verse being edited from the ''Loaded'' version of "
Sweet Jane "Sweet Jane" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground; it appears on their fourth studio album '' Loaded'' (1970). The song was written by Lou Reed, the band's leader, who continued to incorporate the piece into live performances a ...
". "
New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
" was changed as well: as originally recorded, its closing line ("It's the beginning of a new age" as sung by Yule) was repeated many more times. A brief interlude in "Rock and Roll" was also removed. (For the 1995 box set ''Peel Slowly and See'', the album was presented as Reed intended; the "Fully Loaded" two-disc edition includes the full versions of "Sweet Jane" and "New Age".) On the other hand, Yule has pointed out that the album was for all intents and purposes finished when Reed left the band and that Reed had been aware of most, if not all, of the edits.


''Live at Max's'', ''Squeeze'' & Final VU shows (1970–1973)

With manager Steve Sesnick looking to fill bookings (following the departure of Lou Reed), and with the pending release of ''Loaded'' in November 1970, the band, now with Sterling Morrison on guitar, Moe Tucker on drums, Walter Powers on bass, and Doug Yule taking over lead vocals and guitar, played periodic shows to promote the album from November 1970 to August 1971, playing shows around the U.S. By this juncture, Sterling Morrison had received his degree from the City College of New York. Following a show in
Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, he left the group in August 1971 to pursue a
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in
medieval literature Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of t ...
at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. He had packed an empty suitcase and when the time came for the band to return to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, he told them at the airport that he was staying in Texas and quitting the band—the last founding member to quit. Morrison's replacement was singer/keyboard player
Willie Alexander Willie "Loco" Alexander (born January 13, 1943) is an American singer and keyboardist based in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He played with the Lost, the Bagatelle and the Grass Menagerie, before becoming a member of the Velvet Underground in lat ...
. This brief line-up of the band played several shows in the US and Canada in September 1971, and in October and November 1971 the band did several shows in England, Wales, and the Netherlands to support the 1971 European release of ''Loaded'', some of which are collected on the 2001 box set ''
Final V.U. Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
'' After the brief European tour in November 1971 was finished, the lineup of Yule, Tucker, Alexander and Powers disbanded. In May 1972, Atlantic released ''
Live at Max's Kansas City ''Live at Max's Kansas City'' is a live album by the Velvet Underground recorded at the famous nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was originally released on May 30, 1972, by Cotillion, a subsidiary label of A ...
'', the recording of the Velvet Underground's final performance with Reed (also with Doug Yule, Morrison, and Billy Yule) made by a fan, Brigid Polk, on August 23, 1970. Due to publicity around the release, and growing interest in the Velvet Underground in Europe, Sesnick was able to secure a single album deal with Polydor in the UK, and a handful of promotional shows were booked in the UK in November and December 1972. After Sesnick reached out to Yule, a new Velvet Underground lineup was quickly assembled by Yule to do the UK shows. This brief lineup of the Velvet Underground consisted of Yule, guitarist Rob Norris (later of
The Bongos The Bongos were a power pop band from Hoboken, New Jersey that emerged from the New York City arts scene, primarily active in the 1980s, led by Richard Barone. With their unique musical style, they were major progenitors of the Hoboken indie-pop ...
), bassist George Kay (Krzyzewski), and drummer
Mark Nauseef Mark Nauseef (born June 11, 1953), in Cortland, New York, is a drummer and percussionist who has enjoyed a varied career, ranging from rock music during the 1970s with his time as a member of the Ian Gillan Band and, temporarily with Thin Li ...
. After Sesnick failed to show up in London to meet the band with the necessary equipment and tour funds, they played the handful of dates to secure enough money for flights back to the US, and Yule left the band when the brief tour ended in December 1972. It was during this brief period in the UK that Yule recorded the Polydor album (ultimately titled '' Squeeze'') under the Velvet Underground name virtually by himself, with only the assistance of
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
drummer
Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only membe ...
and a few other session musicians in an unspecified London studio. While Yule intended to recruit Moe Tucker to play drums on ''Squeeze'' and the handful of promotional shows, Sesnick vetoed his decision and claimed she was "too expensive" to hire. Yule was also prevented by Sesnick to participate in the mixing of the album's tracks prior to the album's release the following year. ''Squeeze'' was released in February the following year, 1973, in Europe only, with minimal promotion by the label, and was held in low regard by fans and critics.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
notes that the album received "uniformly terrible reviews" upon initial release, and in the early 1970s, the ''NME Book of Rock'' counted it as "a Velvet Underground album in name only". When asked about ''Squeeze'', Yule hinted that band manager Steve Sesnick orchestrated the album purely as a money ploy. "Sesnick dumped the second iteration of the band in England with no money and no equipment and just left us there to find our way back. He gave me six copies of ''Squeeze'' as pay. I never got any money. When you sign with
ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
or BMI you get an advance. He not only made an arrangement with them but actually signed as me and took the money." Despite the negative reviews of the album upon its initial release, in recent years the album has been revisited by both critics and musicians with more sympathetic and favorable reviews. In 2011 music writer Steven Shehori included ''Squeeze'' in his "Criminally Overlooked Albums" series for ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'', and in a lengthy review of the album, offered the following positive assessment of ''Squeeze'': "if you pluck it from the shackles of its murky back-story, ''Squeeze'' is nothing short of a quintessential listening experience." The UK band Squeeze took their name from its title according to band member
Chris Difford Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze. Musical career Born in Greenwich, London, Difford has written l ...
, who offered the following opinion of the album in a 2012 interview: "It's an odd record, but the name came from that, definitely. ... In a retrospective way I really enjoy it. It has kind of a naivety about it." Although Yule had put an end to the Velvet Underground in late 1972, a band with him, Billy Yule, George Kay and guitarist Don Silverman (later known as Noor Khan) was incorrectly billed as the Velvet Underground for two shows in Boston and Long Island. The band members objected to the billing (instigated by their tour manager); according to Yule, the promoter was not supposed to bill the band as the Velvet Underground. In late May 1973, the band and the tour manager parted ways, thus bringing the Velvet Underground to an end until the classic line-up of Reed, Tucker, Morrison and Cale reunited in the 1990s.


Post-VU developments (1972–1990)

Reed, Cale and Nico teamed up at the beginning of 1972 to play a concert in Paris at the Bataclan club. This concert was bootlegged, and finally received an official release as ''
Le Bataclan '72 ''Le Bataclan '72'' is a sixteen-track live album by Lou Reed, John Cale and Nico. It was recorded from the soundboard and heavily bootlegged over the years, before it gained an official release in 2004. Background and production The albu ...
'' in 2003. Before that, Cale and Nico had developed solo careers. Nico had also begun a solo career with Cale producing a majority of her albums. Reed started his solo career in 1972 after a brief sabbatical. Sterling Morrison was a professor for some time, teaching Medieval Literature at the University of Texas at Austin, then became a
tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
captain in Houston for several years. Moe Tucker raised a family before returning to small-scale gigging and recording in the 1980s; Morrison was in several touring bands, including Tucker's band. Yule subsequently toured with Lou Reed and played on the latter's ''
Sally Can't Dance ''Sally Can't Dance'' is the fourth solo studio album by American musician Lou Reed, released in August 1974 by RCA Records. Steve Katz and Reed produced the album. It remains Reed's highest-charting album in the United States, having peaked at ...
'' album, and Yule (at Reed's request) also contributed guitar and bass tracks to Reed's album ''
Coney Island Baby ''Coney Island Baby'' is the sixth solo studio album by American musician Lou Reed, released December 1975 in the US, and in January 1976 in the UK, by RCA Records. Music and lyrics The album has been described by Anthony DeCurtis as "perhaps ...
'', which can be heard in the Bonus Edition of the album (released in 2002). Yule became a member of
American Flyer American Flyer is a brand of toy train and model railroad manufactured in the United States. The Chicago era, 1907–1938 Although best remembered for the S gauge trains of the 1950s that it made as a division of the A. C. Gilbert Comp ...
, then dropped out of the music industry altogether before reappearing in the early 2000s. In 1985 Polydor released the album ''VU'', which collected unreleased recordings that might have constituted the band's fourth album for MGM in 1969 but had never been released. Some of the songs had been recorded when Cale was still in the band. More unreleased recordings of the band, some of them demos and unfinished tracks, were released in 1986 as ''Another View''. On July 18, 1988, Nico died of a cerebral haemorrhage following a bicycle accident. Czech dissident playwright
Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...
was a fan of the Velvet Underground, ultimately becoming a friend of Lou Reed. Though some attribute the name of the 1989 "
Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
", which ended more than 40 years of
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
rule in Czechoslovakia, to the band, Reed pointed out that the name ''Velvet Revolution'' derives from its peaceful nature—that no one was "actually hurt" during those events.Lou Reed
''Havel at Columbia'' interview: "7: The Velvet Revolution and The Velvet Underground"
, accessed April 29, 2007. (See table of contents for "Chapters".)
Reed has also given at least one radio interview where he stated that it was called the Velvet Revolution because all of the dissidents were listening to the Velvet Underground leading up to the overthrow, and this music was an inspiration for the events that followed. After Havel's election as president, first of Czechoslovakia and then the Czech Republic, Reed visited him in Prague.Lou Reed
''Havel at Columbia'' interview: "4: 1990 visit to Prague and the challenges faced by Havel"
, accessed April 29, 2007. (See table of contents for "Chapters".)
On September 16, 1998, at Havel's request, Reed performed in the White House at a
state dinner A state banquet is an official banquet hosted by the head of state in his or her official residence for another head of state, or sometimes head of government, and other guests. Usually as part of a state visit or diplomatic conference, it is h ...
in Havel's honor hosted by President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
.


Reunions and death of Morrison (1990–1996)

In 1990, Reed and Cale released ''
Songs for Drella ''Songs for Drella'' is a 1990 album by Lou Reed and John Cale, both formerly of the Velvet Underground; it is a song cycle about Andy Warhol, their mentor, who had died following routine surgery in 1987. Drella was a nickname for Warhol coined ...
'', a song cycle about Andy Warhol, who had died in 1987. Though Morrison and Tucker had each worked with Reed and Cale since the Velvet Underground had broken up, ''Songs for Drella'' was the first time the pair had worked together in decades, and speculation about a reunion began to form, fueled by the one-off appearance by Reed, Cale, Morrison and Tucker to play "Heroin" as the encore to a brief ''Songs for Drella'' set in
Jouy-en-Josas Jouy-en-Josas () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris. Jouy-en-Josas is home to the main campus of HEC ...
, France. Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison also joined John Cale for an encore at his show at New York University on December 5, 1992. The Reed–Cale–Morrison–Tucker lineup officially reunited without Yule (whose inclusion had been championed by Morrison) in 1992, commencing activities with a European tour beginning in Edinburgh on June 1, 1993, and including a performance at Glastonbury which appeared on an ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' front cover. Cale sang most of the songs Nico had originally performed. As well as headlining (with
Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...
as the opening act), the Velvets performed as supporting act for five dates of U2's
Zoo TV Tour The Zoo TV Tour (also written as ZooTV, ZOO TV or ZOOTV) was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of their 1991 album '' Achtung Baby'', the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 1992 to 1993. It was intended to mirror ...
. With the success of the Velvet Underground's European reunion tour, a series of US tour dates were proposed, as was an ''
MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
'' broadcast, and possibly even some new studio recordings. Before any of this could come to fruition, Cale and Reed fell out again, breaking up the band once more. On August 30, 1995, Sterling Morrison died of
non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tiredness. ...
after returning to his hometown of Poughkeepsie, New York, at age 53. When the classic lineup of the band was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
in 1996, Reed, Tucker, and Cale reformed the Velvet Underground for the last time. Doug Yule was not inducted and did not attend. At the ceremony, the band was inducted by
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...
, and the trio performed "Last Night I Said Goodbye to My Friend", written in tribute to Morrison.


NYPL reunion, death of Reed and Grammys concert (2009–2017)

In December 2009, to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the band's formation, Reed, Tucker and Yule (with Cale not present) gave a rare interview at the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
. The Velvet Underground continues to exist as a New York–based partnership managing the financial and back catalog aspects for the band members. In January 2012, the surviving members of the band initiated legal action against the
Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...
over unauthorised use of the debut album's banana design. Forty-fifth anniversary box sets of the band's first four studio albums, including significantly expanded bonus material, appeared from 2012 to 2015; the live box set ''
The Complete Matrix Tapes ''The Complete Matrix Tapes'' is a live album by the New York City-based experimental rock band the Velvet Underground, released on November 20, 2015. It features unexpurgated recordings of the band's two-night stint on November 26 and 27, 1969, a ...
'', comprising remixed and remastered versions of a series of professionally recorded 1969 performances, also appeared in 2015. On October 27, 2013, Lou Reed died at his home in Southampton, New York, aged 71. He had undergone a liver transplant earlier in the year. John Cale responded to Reed's passing by saying, "The world has lost a fine songwriter and poet…I've lost my 'school-yard buddy'". In 2017, John Cale and Maureen Tucker reunited to perform "
I'm Waiting for the Man "I'm Waiting for the Man" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Written by Lou Reed, it was first released on their 1967 debut album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. The lyrics describe a man's efforts to obtain heroin in ...
" at the Grammy Salute to Music Legends concert.


Legacy

The Velvet Underground is regarded as one of the most influential bands in rock history. In 1996 they were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
. Critic
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
considers it "the number three band of the '60s, after
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and James Brown and His Famous Flames".
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
wrote that "Few rock groups can claim to have broken so much new territory, and maintain such consistent brilliance on record, as the Velvet Underground during their brief lifespan ..the Velvets' innovations – which blended the energy of rock with the sonic adventurism of the avant-garde, and introduced a new degree of social realism and sexual kinkiness into rock lyrics – were too abrasive for the mainstream to handle." The group's first four albums were included in ''Rolling Stone''s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The group was ranked the 19th-greatest artist by the same magazine and the 24th-greatest artist in a poll by VH1.


Band members

Classic line-up *
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
– vocals, guitars , piano *
John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
– viola, bass guitar, keyboards, vocals *
Sterling Morrison Holmes Sterling Morrison Jr. (August 29, 1942 – August 30, 1995) was an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the rock group the Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, a ...
– guitars, backing vocals , bass guitar *
Moe Tucker Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...
– drums, percussion , vocals , bass guitar Former members *
Angus MacLise Angus William MacLise (March 14, 1938 – June 21, 1979) was an American percussionist, composer, poet, occultist and calligrapher, known as the first drummer for the Velvet Underground who abruptly quit due to disagreements with the band pla ...
– percussion , drums *
Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pl ...
- lead and backing vocals *
Doug Yule Douglas Alan Yule (born February 25, 1947) is an American musician and singer, most notable for being a member of the Velvet Underground from 1968 to 1973 serving as the bassist, guitarist and occasional lead vocalist. Biography Early life Doug ...
– vocals , guitar , bass guitar , keyboards *
Billy Yule William Yule (born c. 1954) is an American musician, best known for his brief stint as a temporary drummer for the Velvet Underground during their famous summer engagement 1970 at Max's Kansas City, sitting in for Maureen Tucker while she was on m ...
– drums, percussion * Walter Powers – bass guitar, backing vocals *
Willie Alexander Willie "Loco" Alexander (born January 13, 1943) is an American singer and keyboardist based in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He played with the Lost, the Bagatelle and the Grass Menagerie, before becoming a member of the Velvet Underground in lat ...
– keyboards, vocals


Timeline


Discography

* ''
The Velvet Underground & Nico ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' is the debut album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground and German singer Nico, released in March 1967 through Verve Records. It was recorded in 1966 while the band were featured on Andy Warhol's Ex ...
'' (1967) * ''
White Light/White Heat ''White Light/White Heat'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released on January 30, 1968, on Verve Records, it was the band's last studio recording with multi-instrumentalist and founding member John Cal ...
'' (1968) * ''
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...
'' (1969) * '' Loaded'' (1970) * '' Squeeze'' (1973)


See also

* The Boston Tea Party (concert venue)


References


External links

*
The Velvet Underground Web Page

"Cale on Warhol"Cale performing "Style It Takes"
from John Cale's appearance on ''
Studio 360 ''Studio 360'' was an American weekly public radio program about the arts and culture hosted by novelist Kurt Andersen and produced by Public Radio Exchange (PRX) and ''Slate'' in New York City. The program's stated goal was to "Get inside the ...
'', June 2, 2006
"Loop"
from Issue 3 of ''Aspen'' magazine, December 1966 {{DEFAULTSORT:Velvet Underground, The Rock music groups from New York (state) American art rock groups American experimental rock groups Protopunk groups Andy Warhol Atlantic Records artists Lou Reed Polydor Records artists Sire Records artists Musical groups established in 1964 Musical groups disestablished in 1973 Musical groups reestablished in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups from New York City Performance art in New York City Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Musical quartets Articles which contain graphical timelines 1964 establishments in New York (state) Verve Records artists MGM Records artists People associated with The Factory Alternative rock groups from New York (state)