Lou Reed is an American-born performer, talented rock musician and poet. More than one generation of the world grew up on his singles.
He became famous as the leader of the legendary band The Velvet Underground, went down in history as a bright frontman of his time.
The childhood and youth of Lewis Alan Reed
Full name is Lewis Alan Reed. The boy was born into a family of emigrants on March 2, 1942. His parents (Sydney and Toby) arrived in Brooklyn from Russia. At the age of 5, Louis had a sister, Merrol, who became his reliable friend.
The real name of the father is Rabinowitz, but only when his son was 1 year old did he shorten it - and it turned out to be Reed.
Even at an early age, the boy showed musical abilities. He often tuned the waves of rock and roll, blues on his father's radio, and he mastered playing the guitar on his own.
At the same time, he did not have a musical education and the learning process took place by ear. As his sister said, he was a closed child and opened up, plunging into creativity.
From the age of 16, he participated in local rock bands, which only strengthened his love for music. After graduating from school in 1960, Lewis entered the university at the Faculty of Journalism, Literature and Film Directing.
Most of all, he loved poetry, he could sit for hours in the library, not noticing how time passes. It was this passion that formed a unique vision and abstract thinking.
The first steps towards popularity
Having received a university diploma, he decided to move to the capital. Deciding to try his luck at the studio and stage, he made friends with young and promising musicians.
Soon the friends decided to create a band where Lewis was the vocalist, Morrison took the place of the secondary guitarist, and Cale became the bassist.
The names of the group changed very quickly, in just one year they were: The Primitives, The Falling Spikes and the name from the pornographic novel The Velvet Underground.
At this time, he came up with a pseudonym and changed his name to Lou, which in the future became known to the whole world.
Despite the importance of the first paid performance, Angus left the line-up, thus freeing his place to Maureen Tucker.
The guys started performing as a resident band at the Bizarre Greenwich Village cafe, but one fine night they were fired for playing the banned Black Angels Death Song.
On the fateful night, the composition was noticed by the artist Andy Warhol, who became the producer of the group.
After some time, vocalist Niko joined the group, and the musicians began their first tour of America and Canada. In the 1970s, Lou left the group and went "free swimming".
Lou Reed solo career
After working on himself, Reed released the first album of the same name, Lou Reed. The record did not give decent fees, but the performer's talent was noticed by independent music critics and "fans" of the former group.
Independent works do not have intricate psychedelic elements, but they are characterized by a deep presentation of poetry.
In the early 1980s, the next release of Transformer was released, which became a significant "breakthrough", it was certified as a "golden album".
In 1973, another collection was released, but it did not please with a high level of sales and forced Lewis to move away from the usual presentation of creativity.
So, in 1975, the liberated Metal Machine Music album was devoid of melody and consisted of guitar playing. During the period of solo work, two dozen records were created.
The singles were varied in stylistic presentation and instrumentation.
In 1989, the album New York (another “gold”) was released, which was a resounding success, it was nominated for a Grammy Award for performance. However, it was possible to pick up the award after rewriting the disc.
Public position of the artist
In adulthood, the singer faced widespread problems of alcoholism and drugs. Rebellious behavior with corresponding actions, sexual relationship with a transgender person associated the rock vocalist as a freedom-loving person.
However, having married his third wife, he changed his wild existence to a quiet and measured life.
Such changes caused resentment among fans, to which Reid reacted sharply. In his address, he rudely explained that the development of his personality "does not stand still", and that time with rash acts is long behind.
Lou Reed's personal life
In 1973, the man married his assistant, Betty Krondstadt. The woman accompanied him on tour, and a few months later the couple divorced.
He lived in an unofficial marriage for three years with a transgender named Rachel. Strong feelings for her beloved contributed to the creation of the release of Coney Island Baby.
In the late 1980s, Lu entered into another marriage, and the British beauty Sylvia Morales became his chosen one. Thanks to the support of his wife, the musician got rid of drug addiction and recorded a successful disc.
In 1993, the rock performer met singer Lori Anderson, feeling a kindred spirit, he entered into an extramarital union.
A few months later, he filed for a divorce from Sylvia, and having lived with Anderson for more than 15 years, in 2008 he legalized the relationship. The woman became the last love and wife of the artist.
Since 2012, Lou Reed has been diagnosed with liver cancer, a year later he underwent a donor organ transplant. However, surgery only made the situation worse. The talented figure died on October 27, 2013.
