Lou Reed, a man who as a solo artist and with the Velvet Underground influenced every aspect of rock music for the best part of fifty years, has died at the age of 71.
While the cause of death has not yet been released, it was revealed in June that Reed had undergone what was described at the time as a ‘life saving’ liver transplant.
That news was made public by his wife Laurie Anderson, and Reed gave his own update to fans via a Facebook post shortly there after, writing:
“I am a triumph of modern medicine, physics and chemistry. I am bigger and stronger than ever. My Chen Taiji and health regimen has served me well all of these years, thanks to Master Ren Guang-yi. I look forward to being on stage performing, and writing more songs to connect with your hearts and spirits and the universe well into the future.”
Not long after moving to New York in 1964, Reed met John Cale and what would become the Velvet Underground slowly began to emerge. As did Reed’s painfully personal and emotive songwriting, which detailed his life experiences in the dark side of his adopted city.
That story-telling, matched in every way by the band’s haunting, revolutionary brand of rock and roll, has influenced the direction and off-shoots of the genre ever since.
As a solo artist he was equally as ground-breaking, further documenting his often troubled world, and that of others, with albums such as ‘Transformer‘ and ‘Berlin‘.
‘Hudson River Wind Meditations‘ would prove to be his final studio release, and arrived in 2007.