Lou Reed (born March 2, 1942, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.—died October 27, 2013, Springs, New York) was a singer-songwriter whose place in the rock pantheon rests primarily on his role in guiding the Velvet Underground, a New York City-based quartet that produced four poor-selling but enormously influential studio albums under Reed’s direction from 1965 to 1970. Reed’s post-Velvets career, though erratic, saw him emerge as a star performer in his own right, albeit an unconventional one, as the chronicler of the misbegotten who trolled New York City’s sleazy after-hours bars, alleys, and drug dens. Reed’s best songs did not judge or exploit his misfit characters; instead, he infused them with a rare dignity, and his lyrics pulsed with literary ambition.
After quitting the Velvets, he reemerged as a solo performer in England, where he was adopted by admirers such as glam rock pioneer David Bowie, who produced and performed on Reed’s breakthrough hit, “Walk on the Wild Side” (1973), and Mott the Hoople, who covered Reed’s Velvets classic “Sweet Jane.”
Posted from: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lou-Reed