Lou Reed and Velvet Underground: Top 50 Songs

Lou Reed/Velvet Underground

Lou Reed was an experimental rock singer/songwriter born 3/2/1942 in Long Island, NY. He died 10/27/2013. He established himself as “The Godfather of Punk” with art-rock group The Velvet Underground (vocals/guitar: 1965-70). That group is considered the predecessor to alternative rock and punk and one of the most influential rock groups of all-time. The Velvet Underground also included John Cale (vocals/bass/viola: 1965-68), Sterling Morrison (guitar/backing vocals: 1965-70), Maureen Tucker (percussion: 1967-69), Nico (vocals: 1967), Doug Yule (bass/backing vox: 1969-70), and Billy Yule (drums: 70). Their album Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time. Reed’s other three albums with the band – White Light/White Heat (1967), The Velvet Underground (1969), Loaded (1970) – all rank in the DMDB’s top 1000 albums of all time. Reed went solo in 1970. His albums Transformer (1972) and Berlin (1973) rank in the DMDB’s top 1000 albums of all time. Spotify Podcast: Check out Dave’s Music Database podcast: Covering Velvet Underground & Nico based on this list. It debuts September 28, 2021 at 7pm CST. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

Awards (Velvet Underground):

Awards (Lou Reed):

Top 50 Songs of Lou Reed & Velvet Underground Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. This list includes songs by Velvet Underground and by Lou Reed as a solo artist. Some songs (such as “Satellite of Love”) are noted as Velvet Underground AND Lou Reed songs because they were initially recorded as demos by VU and later by Reed as full-fledged recordings. DMDB Top 1%: 1. Walk on the Wild Side (Reed, 1972) DMDB Top 5%: 2. I’m Waiting for the Man (VU & Nico, 1967) 3. Perfect Day (Reed, 1972) 4. Sweet Jane (VU, 1970) 5. Heroin (VU & Nico, 1967) DMDB Top 10%: 6. Rock and Roll (VU, 1970) 7. Venus in Furs (VU & Nico, 1967) 8. White Light/White Heat (VU, 1968) DMDB Top 20%: 9. All Tomorrow’s Parties (VU & Nico, 1967) 10. Pale Blue Eyes (VU, 1969) 11. Satellite of Love (VU/Reed, 1970/1972) 12. Coney Island Baby (Reed, 1975) 13. This Is Your Land (Simple Minds with Reed, 1989) 14. Sister Ray (VU, 1968) 15. Femme Fatale (VU & Nico, 1967) 16. Berlin (Reed, 1972) 17. Dirty Blvd. (Reed, 1989) 18. Vicious (Reed, 1972) 19. New Age (VU, 1970) 20. Caroline Says I (Reed, 1973) 21. Lisa Says (VU/Reed, 1969/1972) 22. Sally Can’t Dance (Reed, 1974) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 23. Sunday Morning (VU & Nico, 1967) 24. I Can’t Stand It (VU/Reed, 1969/1972) 25. After Hours (VU, 1969) 26. Candy Says (VU, 1969) 27. How Do You Think It Feels (Reed, 1973) 28. Kill Your Sons (Reed, 1974) 29. Waves of Fear (Reed, 1982) 30. Sad Song (VU/Reed, 1970/1972) 31. Rock and Roll Heart (Reed, 1976) 32. America (Star Spangled Banner) (Reed, 1980) 33. What Goes On (VU, 1969) 34. Busload of Faith (Reed, 1989) 35. Vicious Circle (Reed, 1976) 36. There She Goes Again (VU & Nico, 1967) 37. Jesus (VU, 1969) 38. Caroline Says II (Reed, 1973) 39. Beginning to See the Light (VU, 1969) 40. What’s Good (Reed, 1992) 41. Temporary Thing (Reed, 1976) 42. Here Comes the Bride (Reed, 1978) 43. Stephanie Says (VU, 1968) 44. Teach the Gifted Children (Reed, 1980) 45. Street Hassle (Reed, 1978) 46. I Love You (VU/Reed, 1970/1972) 47. Who Loves the Sun (VU, 1970) 48. Think It Over (Reed, 1980) 49. I Love You Suzanne (Reed, 1984) 50. There Is No Time (Reed, 1989) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Lou Reed DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Velvet Underground DMDB Encyclopedia entry for John Cale Velvet Underground/Lou Reed: Top 10 Albums First posted 3/2/2020; last updated 9/28/2021.

Lou Reed Transformer released

Transformer Lou Reed

Released: November 8, 1972 Charted: December 16, 1972 Peak: 29 US, 13 UK, 12 CN, 12 AU, 14 DF Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.3 UK Genre: proto punk/glam

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Vicious [2:55] (4/73, --) Andy’s Chest [3:17] Perfect Day [3:43] Hangin’ ‘Round [3:39] Walk on the Wild Side [4:12] (11/72, 16 US, 10 UK) Make Up [2:58] Satellite of Love [3:40] (2/73, --) Wagon Wheel [3:19] New York Telephone Conversation [1:31] I’m So Free [3:07] Goodnight Ladies [4:19] All songs written by Lou Reed. Total Running Time: 36:40

Rating: 4.350 out of 5.00 (average of 25 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: After four albums with the hugely influential group the Velvet Underground, Lou Reed launched his solo career in 1972 with his self-titled debut album. Before year’s end, he was back with Transformer, an album celebrated as “an influential landmark of the glam rock genre.” WK Part of the credit goes to David Bowie. Earlier in the year he released his own iconic album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Considering the impact the Velvet Underground had on Bowie’s work, it was fitting that he “would offer Lou Reed some much needed help with his career.” AMG As co-producers on Transformer, Bowie and Mick Ronson, the guitarist on Ziggy “crafted a new sound for Reed that was better fitting (and more commercially astute) than the ambivalent tone of his first solo album.” AMG The album’s “commercial success elevated him from cult status to become an international star.” WK “Musically, Reed’s work didn't have too much in common with the sonic bombast of the glam scene, but at least it was a place where his eccentricities could find a comfortable home.” AMG Nowhere was that more apparent than on Walk on the Wild Side, Reed’s most successful single. The song “touched on controversial topics of sexual orientation, gender identity, prostitution and drug use,” WK not exactly the usual fare for a pop hit. That song, along with Perfect Day and Goodnight Ladies, are examples of how Ronson’s “imaginative arrangements… blend pop polish with musical thinking just as distinctive as Reed’s lyrical conceits.” AMG Ronson also “adds some guitar raunch to Vicious and Hangin’ Round that’s a lot flashier than what Reed cranked out with the Velvets, but still honors Lou’s strengths in guitar-driven hard rock.” AMG Four of the songs here originated with the Velvet Underground. Earilier versions of Andy’s Chest and Satellite of Love can be found on the Velvet Underground’s box set Peel Slowly and See while the band had played New York Telephone Converation and “Goodnight Ladies” during a 1970 summer residency at Max’s Kansas City. “The sound and style of Transformer would in many ways define Reed’s career in the 1970s, and while it led him into a style that proved to be a dead end, you can't deny that Bowie and Ronson gave their hero a new lease on life — and a solid album in the bargain.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Lou Reed DMDB encyclopedia entry for David Bowie AMG All Music Guide review by Mark Deming WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 11/16/2010; last updated 11/5/2023.