Lou Reed dies age 71

[Deleted]

Lou Reed, legendary rock pioneer, dead at 71: report


1:39 p.m. CDT, October 27, 2013
Lou Reed, whose band the Velvet Underground became one of the most influential in rock by fusing art and music in 1960s' New York through its collaboration with artist Andy Warhol, died on Sunday at age 71, Rolling Stone reported.
The cause of death was not reported, but Reed underwent a liver transplant in May.

Reed's representatives could not immediately be reached to confirm the news.

Online tributes were pouring in on social media after a message sent earlier in the day on Reed's Twitter and Facebook pages read simply "The Door."

The Velvet Underground never achieved much commercial success, but revolutionized rock in the 1960s and 70s with a mixture of thrashing guitar licks and smooth melodies sung by Reed or the sultry German model Nico, who briefly collaborated with the band at Warhol's insistence.

The band has long been recognized as a major musical influence on punk and art rock, as reflected in a quote often attributed to musician Brian Eno that, "The first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band."

An admitted hard drinker and drug user for many years, Reed underwent a liver transplant earlier this year at the Cleveland Mayo Clinic, his wife, Laurie Anderson, told The Times of London, after he had canceled five California concert dates scheduled in April.

"I am a triumph of modern medicine," Reed posted on his website on June 1, 2013, without directly acknowledging the transplant. "I look forward to being on stage performing, and writing more songs to connect with your hearts and spirits and the universe well into the future."

Check back for updates.

[Verisimilitude]

Shocking news. He left behind lots of amazing music solo and with the Velvet Underground. R.I.P. :(

[halo19]

This is a tragic loss. So much rock music in later years we wouldn't have without him.

[Enigma.]

Horrible news! I just got into his solo material last year... Satellite of Love, Walk on the Wild Side, Perfect Day...brilliant stuff

[HolidayGuy]

RIP, Lou.

As a side note: the Velvet Underground, inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, didn't have a single Hot 100 hit in its career. Reed had one solo Hot 100 entry, the top 20 "Walk on the Wilde Side."

And the highest-charting Velvet Underground album? The No. 85 peak of compilation VU. Perhaps that will change in the wake of his passing.

Reed had a bunch of album-chart solo entries, with the highest peak being No. 10.

[Deleted]

A true legend!

[surreallife]

The first Velvet Underground album is one of the most influential of the rock era. I would highly recommend it to those that have not heard it. Be warned though it is pretty gritty and depressing at times, but very real and very original.

[Luckie Starchild]

Ars longa, vita brevis.

[Nick]

R.I.P. Lou. Sad.

[imbondz]

His music had zero impact in my life. Never listened to him or VU. Too depressing

[Glove Slap]

RIP

Contemporary music would be very very different without him. The great irony here is that in some way, he did end up reaching the masses, but through those whose massively commercially successfully music he influenced.

[halo19]

Oct 27, 2013 16:54:15 GMT -5 surreallife said:

The first Velvet Underground album is one of the most influential of the rock era. I would highly recommend it to those that have not heard it. Be warned though it is pretty gritty and depressing at times, but very real and very original.

I think the first three albums are all very influential from TVU.
The second one sprung on the noise rock and no wave most directly, but also maybe a bit of gothic rock and others.
The other self-titled wouldn't sound out of place right next to R.E.M. Also an influence on the indie rock scene later, particularly the slowcore of the time and maybe even some jangle stuff.

Sometimes I think the talk of that overshadows Lou's ability as a songwriter.

[jj99$ - - LeLe]

First got into him after thoroughly enjoying the Adventureland Soundtrack.

RIP

[areyoureadytojump]

www.billboard.com/articles/news/5770575/lou-reed-billboard-chart-history

Lou Reed's 'Perfect' Billboard Chart History
By Keith Caulfield, Los Angeles | October 27, 2013

In his lifetime, the late Lou Reed charted 23 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, stretching back to his self-titled debut in 1972.

The Grammy Award-winner's most recent chart ink came with his collaboration album "Lulu," with Metallica. It was released in 2011 and debuted and peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard 200 chart, immediately becoming Reed's highest-charting album since 1974's "Sally Can't Dance" reached No. 10. (The latter is also his highest charting effort, overall.)

"Lulu" was also Reed's first charting album in more than a decade, following "Ecstasy" in 2000. It reached No. 183 on the tally.

Reed was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as part of the influential band the Velvet Underground, a group in which he earned five charting albums with on the Billboard 200. Its 1967 debut effort, "The Velvet Underground & Nico" -- with its famed "peel slowly and see" banana cover by Andy Warhol -- reached No. 171 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Reed charted fairly consistently from his debut in 1972 on through the current decade, with top 50-charting albums like "Transformer" (co-produced by David Bowie), "Sally Can't Dance," "Coney Island Baby," "Mistrial" and "New York." The latter album earned Reed a Grammy Award nomination for best rock vocal performance, male, in 1989.

Though Reed was a regular visitor to the Billboard 200 albums chart, he was never a pop singles-oriented artist. In his entire career, he charted just one entry as an artist the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart: "Walk On the Wild Side," which hit No. 16 in 1973. The single, with its powerful lyrics and memorable "do, de-do" chorus, was lifted from the Bowie co-produced album "Transformer" and written solely by Reed.

"Walk on the Wild Side" was surprisingly turned into a top 10 hit decades later, after it was revived via a sample in 1991. Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch -- led by future Academy Award-nominee Mark Wahlberg -- sampled the track for its 1991 single "Wildside," which hit No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It spent five weeks at No. 10 on the chart, marking one of the longest runs for a No. 10-peaking single in the Hot 100 chart's history.

"Walk On the Wild Side" has also proved to be Reed's biggest-selling song of the digital era, having sold 510,000 downloads in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Another of "Transformer's" singles -- "Perfect Day" -- would go on to live an extraordinary life on the charts, thanks to numerous covers and compilation album appearances through the years. Notably, it turned up on the "Trainspotting" soundtrack in 1996, helping the album reach No. 48 on the Billboard 200 and go on to sell 709,000 copies in the U.S.

"Perfect Day" is also currently familiar to millions as the current theme song to TV commercials touting the new PlayStation 4 console. (The song is performed by actors in the commercial, as they battle in various gameplay scenarios.)

The song also helped bring Reed to the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart in 2010, by way of Susan Boyle. The latter singer covered the song on her Christmas album "The Gift," which debuted at No. 1 on the chart, and spent four weeks atop the list. The album has sold 2.1 million in the U.S.

In recent years, Reed had collaborated with an array of artists, ranging from the Killers and Gorillaz to Blind Boys of Alabama and Antony and the Johnsons. Reed sold 1.6 million albums in the U.S. since SoundScan began tracking music sales in 1991. (The Velvet Underground adds another 2 million to that sum.)

Reed's last charting effort during his lifetime, "Lulu" with Metallica, debuted and peaked at No. 10 on the Rock Albums chart and No. 36 on the Billboard 200. It has sold 32,000 in the U.S.

[areyoureadytojump]

www1.billboard.biz/bbbiz/photos/pdf/2013/current.pdf

According to Nielsen SoundScan,
which tracks sales since 1991, “The
Velvet Underground & Nico” sold
560,000 copies – well above the thousands
or tens of thousands they sold in
their time. The Velvet Underground’s
catalog has sold some two million albums
since 1991. And the band’s second
best-selling album according to
SoundScan was its greatest hits collection,
“The Best of Velvet Underground”
which sold some 308,000
copies followed by “Loaded” which
has sold 250,000 copies.

Here are the band’s current tallies:
Velvet Undergroun Charting
Albums:

(Title – Peak on Billboard 200 -
SoundScan–era (1991-present) sales)
“The Velvet Underground & Nico”
- No. 171 – 560,000
“White Light/White Heat” - No.
199 – 113,000
“VU” - No. 85 – 90,000
“The Velvet Underground” - No.
197 (first released in 1969, charted in
1985) - 201,000
“Live MCMXCI I I” - No. 180
– 77,000

Other Non-Charting VU Albums
That Sold Significantly:

“The Best of Velvet Underground”
- 308,000
“Loaded” - 250,000
“Peel Slowly and See” - 70,000
“Live with Lou Reed Vol. 1”
- 55,000

Sales figures courtesy of Nielsen
SoundScan.
–Andy Gensler, New York

[areyoureadytojump]

www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/5770706/lou-reeds-posthumous-album-sales-rise-607

Lou Reed's Posthumous Album Sales Rise 607%
By Keith Caulfield, Los Angeles | October 30, 2013

The late Lou Reed's catalog of music sees great gains this week, following his death on Sunday, Oct. 27.

As Nielsen SoundScan's sales tracking week ended on Oct. 27, Billboard's new sales charts reflect less than one day since Reed's passing. (SoundScan provides data to Billboard for its music chart rankings.) Thus, we'll probably see even larger increases for his music a week from now, after a full seven days have passed following his death.

Reed's catalog of albums sold 3,000 last week -- up 607% from the less than 1,000 the week previous. Reed was also a member of the band the Velvet Underground, which sees its album sales rise to 3,000 as well -- up by 236%.

His best selling album in the last week was "Transformer," with 1,000 sold (up 527%). The Velvet Underground's largest seller was its 1967 debut "The Velvet Underground & Nico," with 1,000 (up 146%).

In terms of digital songs, Reed sold 17,000 downloads last week -- up from 2,000 the week previous (a gain of 590%). The Velvet Underground's song sales grew to 5,000 -- up from 1,000 the week previous (a gain of 410%).

Reed's largest selling song last week was also his biggest chart hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Walk On the Wild Side." It sold 6,000 downloads (up by 729%) and debuts at No. 38 on the Rock Digital Songs chart. "Walk On the Wild Side" reached No. 16 on the Hot 100 in 1973.

Velvet Underground's biggest song in the past week was "Sweet Jane," with 1,000 downloads sold (up by 521%).

"Walk On the Wild Side" also, unsurprisingly, proved to be one of Reed's most popular songs on the streaming music service Spotify in the wake of his death. His catalog of songs earned a 3,000% increase in streams, globally, in the 12 hours following the news of his passing on Sunday.