SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 7.7.2026
I came upon ‘Lou Reed – King of New York’ written by Will Hermes while having lunch with my daughter at a neighborhood Cafe which has an extensive selection of books for purchase.
My first connection with Lou Reed was in the late 1960’s when I purchased the classic ‘Velvet Underground and Nico’ album which, on its cover, had a banana peel which could be peeled off.
Since that time I followed Lou Reed’s musical odyssey. He was definitely one of the most cutting edge American musicians. For both his style and political commentary. Following are three of my favorite Lou Reed compositions.
The Velvet Underground & Nico was released in March 1967 and peaked at No. 171 on the U.S. Billboard 200.[33] Much later, Rolling Stone listed it as the 13th greatest album of all time; musician Brian Eno once stated that although few people bought the album at the time of its release, most of those who did were inspired to form their own bands.[40] Václav Havel credited the album, which he bought while visiting the U.S., with inspiring him to become president of Czechoslovakia.[41]
Reed’s commercial breakthrough album, Transformer, was released in November 1972. Transformer was co-produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, and it introduced Reed to a wider audience, especially in the UK. The single “Walk on the Wild Side” was a salute to the misfits and hustlers who once surrounded Andy Warhol in the late ’60s and appeared in his films.
The 1989 album New York, which commented on crime, AIDS, civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, then-President of Austria Kurt Waldheim, and Pope John Paul II, became his second gold-certified work when it passed 500,000 sales in 1997.[62] Reed was nominated for a Grammy Award for best male rock vocal performance for the album.[53]
Top photo: Lou Reed with Patti Smith
Lee's Perspective 