Music legend Lou Reed has died at the age of 71 in New York.
The cause of death is as yet unclear, but the rocker was in surgery for a liver transplant in May.
The writer of ‘Walk On The Wild Side’ as well as countless Velvet Underground songs, the band which catapulted him to fame, had not been seen in public recently since his transplant.
Lou Reed was born March 2, 1942. He was best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his solo career, which spanned several decades. Though the Velvet Underground were a commercial failure in the late 1960s, the group has gained a considerable cult following in the years since its demise and has gone on to become one of the most widely cited and influential bands of the era.
After his departure from the group, Reed began a solo career in 1972. He had a hit the following year with “Walk on the Wild Side”, although he subsequently lacked the mainstream commercial success its chart status seemed to indicate. In 1975, Reed released a double album of feedback loops, Metal Machine Music, upon which he later commented, “No one is supposed to be able to do a thing like that and survive.”
Reed was known for his distinctive deadpan voice, poetic lyrics and for pioneering and coining the term Ostrich guitar.
The Velvet Underground was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1996.
Reed is survived by his wife, performance artist, Laurie Anderson.
