Today in Music (1967): Velvet Underground White Light/White Heat released

White Light/White Heat The Velvet Underground

Released: November 30, 1967 Peak: 199 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: experimental rock/proto-punk

Tracks: White Light/White Heat [2:47] The Gift [8:19] Lady Godiva’s Operation [4:56] Here She Comes Now [2:04] I Heard Her Call My Name [4:38] Sister Ray [17:27] Total Running Time: 40:12 Also from This Era: It Was a Pleasure Then Chelsea Girls There Is No Reason (demo) Shelter Life (demo) It’s All Right (The Way That You Live) (demo) I’m Not Too Sorry (Now That You’re Gone) (demo) Booker T. (live) Guess I’m Falling in Love The Players: Lou Reed (vocals, guitar) John Cale (viola, vocals, bass) Sterling Morrison (guitar, bass) Maureen Tucker (drums)

Rating: 4.007 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings) Quotable: “A notable influence on punk and experimental rock.” – Wikipedia Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

A Change from the First Album to the Second “The world of pop music was hardly ready for The Velvet Underground’s first album when it appeared in the spring of 1967.” AM It “sounded like an open challenge to conventional notions of what rock music could sound like.” AM Unfortunately, album sales were disappointing and the band’s relationship with Andy Warhol, their “celebrity benefactor,” RD was deteriorating. WK The band’s primary singer and lyricist, Lou Reed, reached out to Steve Sesnick, a Boston businessman. “The new manager urged Reed to pursue a more commercial agenda – to the displeasure of bassist/organist John Cale.” RD The Sound of the Second Album This led to a new producer for VU’s second album – the legendary Tom Wilson. “‘Produced’ might be too strong a term.” AD This record “sounds like it was recorded by a deaf man on a primitive home tape deck.” AD “You don’t like distortion? May as well not bother listening to anything at all from this record, then.” AD Nobody at the record company gave a damn; if they had, no doubt they wouldn't have even ALLOWED this to be released in the first place!” AD While the group toured “throughout most of 1967, many of their live performances featured noisy improvisations that would become key elements on White Light/ White Heat.” WK The album, which was the last to feature violist and founding member John, Cale, was recorded in just two days. WK It “was a no-holds-barred frontal assault on cultural and aesthetic propriety,” AM capturing the group at their toughest and most abrasive.” AM The Album’s Influence The album is, “from start to finish, a searing ball of hate, masked in black leather and heroin dust.” JSH It “is easily the least accessible of The Velvet Underground’s studio albums” AM but it has become “a notable influence on punk and experimental rock.” WK If “judged sheerly on the basis of intent this is probably the all-time heavyweight punk champ.” JSH Sterling Morrison said, “We may have been dragging each other off a cliff, but we were all definitely going in the same direction. In the White Light/ White Heat era, our lives were chaos. That’s what’s reflected in the record.” WK John Cale said, “The first one had some gentility, some beauty. The second one was consciously anti-beauty.” WK The Songs “Nearly every song on the album contains some sort of experimental or avant-garde quality.” WK “The record’s lyrics vary from themes of drug use and sexual references (such as fellatio and orgies).” WK Here are thoughts on the album’s individual songs.

It Was a Pleasure Then Nico

Writer(s): Lou Reed, John Cale, Christa Paeffgen Recorded: April/May 1967 at Mayfair Sound Studios in New York Released: Chelsea Girl (Nico, 1967), Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995), Gold (compilation: 2005) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.76 streaming

Chelsea Girls Nico

Writer(s): Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison Recorded: April/May 1967 at Mayfair Sound Studios in New York Released: Chelsea Girls (Nico, 1967), Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995), Gold (compilation: 2005) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.38 streaming

There Is No Reason (demo) The Velvet Underground

Writer(s): Lou Reed, John Cale Recorded: early 1967 Released: Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.06 streaming

Sheltered Life (demo) The Velvet Underground

Writer(s): Lou Reed Recorded: early 1967 Released: Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.06 streaming

It’s All Right (The Way That You Live) (demo) The Velvet Underground

Writer(s): Lou Reed, John Cale Recorded: early 1967 Released: Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.28 streaming

I’m Not Too Sorry (Now That You’re Gone) (demo) The Velvet Underground

Writer(s): Lou Reed, John Cale Recorded: early 1967 Released: Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.05 streaming

Booker T. (live) The Velvet Underground

Writer(s): Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker Recorded: live April 1967 at the Gymnasium in New York City Released: Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.05 streaming

Guess I’m Falling in Love The Velvet Underground

Writer(s): Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker Recorded: live April 1967 at the Gymnasium in New York City; instrumental: December 5, 1967 Released: instrumental: Another View (archives, 1986), live: Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.61 streaming

White Light/White Heat The Velvet Underground

Writer(s): Lou Reed Recorded: September 1967 at Mayfair Sound Studios in New York Released: Nov. 1967 (single), White Light/White Heat (1967), The Best of: Words and Music of Lou Reed (compilation: 1989), Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995), 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection (compilation: 2000), The Very Best of (compilation: 2003), Gold (compilation: 2005) Peak: 8 CL, 12 CO, 8 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.42 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The “tunefully distorted title track” RD is “an amphetamined rush that truly did blur at the sound of speed.” DT It “is actually one of the more ‘accessible’ tracks here.” AD It kicks things off “with an open and enthusiastic endorsement of amphetamines (startling even from this group of noted drug enthusiasts).” AM It “is incredibly heavy punk rock for its time, but nothing’s ever sounded quite like this since.” JSH

The Gift The Velvet Underground

Writer(s): Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, John Cale, Moe Tucker Recorded: September 1967 at Mayfair Sound Studios in New York Released: White Light/White Heat (1967), Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995) Peak: 10 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.86 streaming About the Song: The Gift features “a loud instrumental rock song” WK coming out of the right speaker while John Cale recites a “bizarre story” AD out of the left channel in his “amiable Welsh accent.” RD “You wanna meet a girl? Mail yourself through the post so she can unwrap you at the other end. Just be sure she doesn’t use a large sheet metal cutter to get into the package you’ve sent yourself in.” AD The musical half features “a monster riff” JSH with “hammering guitars, which ripple with sleaziness.” JSH “Moe’s fantastic on this one.” JSH

Lady Godiva’s Operation The Velvet Underground

Writer(s): Lou Reed Recorded: September 1967 at Mayfair Sound Studios in New York Released: White Light/White Heat (1967), Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995) Peak: 27 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.12 streaming About the Song: The “incredibly nightmarish Lady Godiva’s Operation” TB “puts a queasy medical spin on the medieval legend,” RD relaying a tale of “a transsexual’s botched lobotomy.” WK There are “voices jumping out of the psych-noir mix to artful effect.” RD It is another “Moe Tucker showpiece…the drum sounds like a heartbeat, and the heart is dark and full of malice.” JSH John Cale sings with Lou Reed coming in at places “with these stupid, half-sung words in a very loud voice quite at odds with everything else going on. It’s a dumb, stupid thing to do, but I’m sure that was the entire point!” AD

Here She Comes Now The Velvet Underground

Writer(s): Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, John Cale Recorded: September 1967 at Mayfair Sound Studios in New York Released: Nov. 1967 (B side of “White Light White Heat”), White Light/White Heat (1967), demo and album versions: Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995), The Very Best of (compilation: 2003) Peak: 19 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 6.99 streaming About the Song: Here She Comes Now is a “mildly disquieting” AM and “pretty, little simple song rendered on the record with more than just a little sense of humor.” AD “It sounds so simple and easy, it sounds so addictive.” AD As such, it isn’t surprising that it is “their most covered song [including versions by Nirvana and Galaxie 500] – why shouldn’t it be?” JSH

I Heard Her Call My Name The Velvet Underground

Writer(s): Lou Reed Recorded: September 1967 at Mayfair Sound Studios in New York Released: White Light/White Heat (1967), Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995), The Very Best of (compilation: 2003), Gold (compilation: 2005) Peak: 32 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.07 streaming About the Song: “While side one was a good bit darker in tone than the Velvets’ first album, side two was where they truly threw down the gauntlet with the manic, free-jazz implosion of I Heard Her Call My Name.” AM It is “distinguishable for its distorted guitar solos and prominent use of feedback.” WK It “is unprecedented and sounds spontaneous and unrepeatable.” JSH

Sister Ray The Velvet Underground

Writer(s): Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, John Cale, Moe Tucker Recorded: September 1967 at Mayfair Sound Studios in New York Released: White Light/White Heat (1967), Peel Slowly and See (box set: 1995), 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection (compilation: 2000), Gold (compilation: 2005) Peak: 9 CO, 21 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 4.21 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “They say that heavy metal starts here.” TC “On purely musical merits, Sister Ray is hard to justify but as an organically evolving, living, gasping, sonic monster, it remains unsurpassed in the annals of rock.” TB This “epic noise jam” AM is “the big bang of noise-rock.” RD The song is “carried along on tidal waves of serrated feedback, discordant keys, and primal garage pounding.” RD It features “swirling, pre-Doors surrealism by John Cale’s organ and Mo Tucker’s thrashing drums, an urgent setting for Reed’s flat whine.” WR “Distortion sends everything to heaven, the song dissolves completely in several places into white noise.” AD Sterling Morrison explained that the band decided to do the song in one take, saying “whatever you want to do you better do it now…There is a musical struggle – everyone’s trying to do what he wants to do every second, and nobody’s backing off.” TC “Reed tells a tale of debauchery:” WK “17 minutes of sex, drugs, and guns” RD “and other non-wholesome fun with the loudest rock group in the history of Western Civilization as the house band.” AM

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Mark Deming TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 504. AD Adrian Denning (3/30/2007). “Adrian’s Top 100 Albums, So Far” RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. Page 127. JSH Blastitude (2003). “A Loaded Proposition: Joe S. Harrington Picks the All-Time Top 100 Or…Who Pulled the Trigger?” by Joe S. Harrington DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 130. TB Thunder Bay (2005). Albums: The Stories Behind 50 Years of Great Recordings. Thunder Bay Press; San Diego, CA. Pages 90-91. WK Wikipedia WR The Wire (June 1992). “The 100 Most Important Records Ever Made” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 8/28/2010; last updated 9/1/2026.