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Photo of Lou Reed

Photo: Man Alive! / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Lou Reed

ルー・リード / るー・りーど

American singer

March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013 ・ Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, New York, United States

  • New York
  • singer
  • singer-songwriter
  • guitarist

My Take

What strikes me most about Lou Reed is how he expanded what a rock song was allowed to be about. With the Velvet Underground and later as a solo artist, he wrote about the people polite society preferred to ignore, and he did it without judgment or sentimentality. Walk on the Wild Side still sounds dangerous and tender at once, which is a nearly impossible balance. I find it telling that his commercial peak never matched his influence; half the bands I love only exist because he proved honesty could be an aesthetic. His Hall of Fame induction felt less like an honor than an overdue apology.

1. Profile

Name (English)
Lou Reed
Name (Japanese)
ルー・リード
Reading
るー・りーど
Born
March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
Pisces / Horse
Origin
Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, New York, United States
Occupation
singer / singer-songwriter / guitarist / photographer / composer

2. Background

High school
Freeport High School
University
Syracuse University

Awards & achievements

  • Steiger Award
  • 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  • Grammy Awards

4. Personality

Motto

Private

5. Works & records

CategoryTitleRoleYear
Notable workWalk on the Wild Side
Notable workTransformer

Frequently asked questions

When was Lou Reed born?

March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013.

Where is Lou Reed from?

Lou Reed is from Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, New York, United States.

What does Lou Reed do?

Lou Reed works as singer, singer-songwriter, guitarist, photographer, composer.

What is Lou Reed known for?

Notable works include Walk on the Wild Side, Transformer.

Singer — see all → · Singer-songwriter — see all → · More people from United States →

7. About this entry

Tags

  • New York
  • singer
  • singer-songwriter
  • guitarist
Last updated
2026-06-11

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.