Jun 16, 2026 · 53 min · 11 segments
RCA Records had to halt distribution of Metal Machine Music just weeks after its release in 1975, due to customer complaints about its cacophonous, atonal noise . It was so widely derided that it…
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He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter very famously for the rock band The Velvet Underground, and had a solo career that spanned five decades and 20 albums.
Although not commercially successful during its existence, The Velvet Underground came to be regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of underground and alternative rock music.
Reed's distinctive deadpan voice, poetic and transgressive lyrics, and experimental guitar playing were trademarked throughout his long career.
His first recording was as a member of a doo-wop three-piece group called The Jades, with Reed providing guitar accompaniment and backing vocals, an opportunity he got after participating in a talent show at Freeport Junior High School in early 1958.
That mental breakdown led to electroconvulsive therapy, which he later recalled as having been traumatic and leading to memory loss.
Upon his recovery from his illness and associated treatment, he resumed his education at Syracuse University in 1960. studying journalism, film directing, and creative writing.
He played music on campus under numerous band names and played throughout central New York.
Per his bandmates, they were routinely kicked out of fraternity parties for their brash personality and insistence on performing their own material.
While at Syracuse University, he studied under the poet Delmore Schwartz, who he said was the first great person I ever met.
He credited Schwartz with showing him, quote, how with the simplest language imaginable and very short, you can accomplish the most astonishing heights.
He later said that his goals as a writer were to bring, quote, bring the sensitivities of the novel to rock music, end quote, or to write the great American novel in a record album.
Reed went on to graduate from Syracuse University's College of Arts and Scientists with a BA cum laude in English in June of 1964.
In 1965, Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Angus MacLeiss formed the Velvet Underground.
After building a reputation in the avant-garde music scene, The Velvet Underground gained the attention of Andy Warhol, who became the band's manager.
The Velvet Underground became something of a fixture at The Factory, Warhol's art studio, and served as his
house band for various projects.
The band released its first album, now with drummer Mo Tucker, and featuring German singer Nico in 1967, and then parted ways with Warhol shortly thereafter.
Following several lineup changes and three more Little Herd albums, Reed quit the band in 1970.
He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter very famously for the rock band The Velvet Underground, and had a solo career that spanned five decades and 20 albums.
Although not commercially successful during its existence, The Velvet Underground came to be regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of underground and alternative rock music.
Reed's distinctive deadpan voice, poetic and transgressive lyrics, and experimental guitar playing were trademarked throughout his long career.
His first recording was as a member of a doo-wop three-piece group called The Jades, with Reed providing guitar accompaniment and backing vocals, an opportunity he got after participating in a talent show at Freeport Junior High School in early 1958.
That mental breakdown led to electroconvulsive therapy, which he later recalled as having been traumatic and leading to memory loss.
Upon his recovery from his illness and associated treatment, he resumed his education at Syracuse University in 1960. studying journalism, film directing, and creative writing.
He played music on campus under numerous band names and played throughout central New York.
Per his bandmates, they were routinely kicked out of fraternity parties for their brash personality and insistence on performing their own material.
While at Syracuse University, he studied under the poet Delmore Schwartz, who he said was the first great person I ever met.
He credited Schwartz with showing him, quote, how with the simplest language imaginable and very short, you can accomplish the most astonishing heights.
He later said that his goals as a writer were to bring, quote, bring the sensitivities of the novel to rock music, end quote, or to write the great American novel in a record album.
Reed went on to graduate from Syracuse University's College of Arts and Scientists with a BA cum laude in English in June of 1964.
In 1965, Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Angus MacLeiss formed the Velvet Underground.
After building a reputation in the avant-garde music scene, The Velvet Underground gained the attention of Andy Warhol, who became the band's manager.
The Velvet Underground became something of a fixture at The Factory, Warhol's art studio, and served as his
house band for various projects.
The band released its first album, now with drummer Mo Tucker, and featuring German singer Nico in 1967, and then parted ways with Warhol shortly thereafter.
Following several lineup changes and three more Little Herd albums, Reed quit the band in 1970.
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