Lou Reed (March 2, 1942 - October 27, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and poet whose work reshaped the possibilities of rock music. Best known as the principal songwriter and vocalist of the Velvet Underground, he created songs that brought literary ambition, experimental sound, and unvarnished accounts of urban life into popular music. His solo career was marked by constant shifts between glam rock, art rock, hard rock, spoken-word performance, electronic noise, and stripped-down singer-songwriter music.
Born Lewis Allan Reed in Brooklyn, New York, Reed was raised on Long Island and studied English at Syracuse University. There he worked with the poet Delmore Schwartz, whose influence encouraged Reed to treat songwriting as a form of serious literature. After graduating in 1964, he worked as a staff songwriter for Pickwick Records, where he met Welsh composer and multi-instrumentalist John Cale. Their partnership became the foundation of the Velvet Underground.
Formed in New York in 1965 with guitarist Sterling Morrison and drummer Maureen Tucker, the Velvet Underground soon became associated with Andy Warhol's Factory scene. Warhol managed the group and produced its first album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, released in 1967. Although the record performed modestly on the charts, its combination of distorted guitars, viola drones, spare rhythms, and Reed's detached delivery proved deeply influential. Songs such as "Heroin," "Venus in Furs," "I'm Waiting for the Man," and "All Tomorrow's Parties" dealt directly with addiction, sexuality, alienation, and violence at a time when mainstream rock generally avoided such subjects.
The band's follow-up, White Light/White Heat (1968), pushed further into feedback and sonic extremity. After Cale's departure, the Velvet Underground recorded The Velvet Underground and Loaded, the latter containing Reed's enduring songs "Sweet Jane" and "Rock & Roll." Reed left the group in 1970, beginning a long and unpredictable solo career.
His self-titled debut appeared in 1972, but his breakthrough came with Transformer later that year. Produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, the album presented Reed in a more accessible glam-rock setting while preserving his fascination with outsiders and unconventional characters. "Walk on the Wild Side" became his signature song and his highest-charting single. Berlin (1973) was considerably darker, unfolding as a tragic narrative about addiction, abuse, and emotional collapse. Reed continued to resist commercial expectations with releases such as Sally Can't Dance, Rock 'n' Roll Animal, and the abrasive double album Metal Machine Music.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Reed developed a more direct and politically engaged style. The Blue Mask and Legendary Hearts returned to lean, guitar-centered arrangements, while New York (1989) offered a sharply written portrait of the city and its social tensions. He also collaborated with John Cale on Songs for Drella, a tribute to Andy Warhol, and explored mortality and loss on Magic and Loss.
Reed remained active into the 2000s, releasing Ecstasy, The Raven, and the ambient project Hudson River Wind Meditations. In 2011, he collaborated with Metallica on Lulu, an ambitious and divisive adaptation of plays by Frank Wedekind. He died in 2013 at the age of 71. The Velvet Underground entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, and Reed was inducted as a solo artist in 2015. His influence extends across punk, alternative rock, glam, noise, and contemporary songwriting, while his distinctive voice and uncompromising view of New York remain central to his legacy.