Walk On The Wild Side - Music
Walk On The Wild Side by Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Artist Biography For Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed March 2 1942 – October 27 2013 Was An American Musician Songwriter And Poet. He Was The Guitarist Singer And Principal Songwriter For The Rock Band The Velvet Underground And Had A Solo Career That Spanned Five Decades. Although Not Commercially Successful During Its Existence The Velvet Underground Became Regarded As One Of The Most Influential Bands In The History Of Underground And Alternative Rock Music. Reed's Distinctive Deadpan Voice Poetic And Transgressive Lyrics And Experimental Guitar Playing Were Trademarks Throughout His Long Career. Having Played Guitar And Sung In Doo-Wop Groups In High School Reed Studied Poetry At Syracuse University Under Delmore Schwartz And Had Served As A Radio DJ Hosting A Late-Night Avant Garde Music Program While At College. After Graduating From Syracuse He Went To Work For Pickwick Records In New York City A Low-Budget Record Company That Specialized In Sound-Alike Recordings As A Songwriter And Session Musician. A Fellow Session Player At Pickwick Was John Cale Together With Sterling Morrison And Angus MacLise They Would Form The Velvet Underground In 1965. After Building A Reputation On The Avant Garde Music Scene They Gained The Attention Of Andy Warhol Who Became The Band's Manager They In Turn Became Something Of A Fixture At The Factory Warhol's Art Studio And Served As His "house Band" For Various Projects. The Band Released Their First Album Now With Drummer Moe Tucker And Featuring German Singer Nico In 1967 And Parted Ways With Warhol Shortly Thereafter. Following Several Lineup Changes And Three More Little-Heard Albums Reed Quit The Band In 1970. After Leaving The Band Reed Would Go On To A Much More Commercially Successful Solo Career Releasing Twenty Solo Studio Albums. His Second Transformer 1972 Was Produced By David Bowie And Arranged By Mick Ronson And Brought Him Mainstream Recognition. The Album Is Considered An Influential Landmark Of The Glam Rock Genre Anchored By Reed's Most Successful Single "Walk On The Wild Side". After Transformer The Less Commercial But Critically Acclaimed Berlin Peaked At No. 7 On The UK Albums Chart. Rock 'n' Roll Animal A Live Album Released In 1974 Sold Strongly And Sally Can't Dance 1974 Peaked At No. 10 On The Billboard 200 But For A Long Period After Reed's Work Did Not Translate Into Sales Leading Him Deeper Into Drug Addiction And Alcoholism. Reed Cleaned Up In The Early 1980s And Gradually Returned To Prominence With The Blue Mask 1982 And New Sensations 1984 Reaching A Critical And Commercial Career Peak With His 1989 Album New York. Reed Participated In The Re-Formation Of The Velvet Underground In The 1990s And Made Several More Albums Including A Collaboration Album With John Cale Titled Songs For Drella Which Was A Tribute To Their Former Mentor Andy Warhol. Magic And Loss 1992 Would Become Reed's Highest-Charting Album On The UK Albums Chart Peaking At No. 6. He Contributed Music To Two Theatrical Interpretations Of 19th Century Writers One Of Which He Developed Into An Album Titled The Raven. He Married His Third Wife Laurie Anderson In 2008 And Recorded The Collaboration Album Lulu With Metallica. He Died In 2013 Of Liver Disease. Reed Has Been Inducted Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Twice As A Member Of The Velvet Underground In 1996 And As A Solo Act In 2015. Full Wikipedia Article Https //en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/Lou_Reed Studio Albums
Lou Reed 1972 Transformer 1972 Berlin 1973 Rock 'n' Roll Animal 1974 Sally Can't Dance 1974 Metal Machine Music 1975 Coney Island Baby 1975 Rock And Roll Heart 1976 Street Hassle 1978 The Bells 1979 Growing Up In Public 1980 The Blue Mask 1982 Legendary Hearts 1983 New Sensations 1984 Mistrial 1986 New York 1989 Magic And Loss 1992 Set The Twilight Reeling 1996 Ecstasy 2000 The Raven 2003 Hudson River Wind Meditations 2007
Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Walk on the Wild Side
Lou-Reed - Transformer
"Walk On The Wild Side" Is A Lou Reed Song From His 1972 Second Solo Album Transformer. It Was Produced By David Bowie. The Song Received Wide Radio Coverage Despite Its Touching On Taboo Topics Such As Transsexuality Drugs Male Prostitutes And Oral Sex. In The United States RCA Released An Edited Version Of The Song As A Single Which Eliminated The Song's Reference To Oral Sex.
The Lyrics Describing A Series Of Individuals And Their Journeys To New York City Refer To Several Of The Regular "superstars" At Andy Warhol's New York Studio The Factory Namely Holly Woodlawn Candy Darling Joe Dallesandro Jackie Curtis And Joe Campbell Referred To In The Song By His Nickname Sugar Plum Fairy . Candy Darling Was Also The Subject Of Reed's Earlier Song For The Velvet Underground Candy Says. The Saxophone Solo Played Over The Fadeout Of The Song Was Performed By Ronnie Ross Who Had Taught David Bowie To Play The Saxophone During Bowie's Childhood.
The Backing Vocals Were Sung By Thunderthighs A Girl Group That Included Founder Dari Lallou Together With Karen Friedman Jacki Campbell And Casey Synge.
The Single Peaked At #16 On The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Charts In Early 1973. Like Many Of Reed's Songs "Walk On The Wild Side" Is Based On A Plagal Cadence Alternating From C To F. The F Is Played As A Sixth Chord. The Pre-Chorus Introduces The Major Second D Major Although In Some Live Performances This Was Changed To D Minor Resulting In A Completely Diatonic Song.
The Song Is Also Noted For Its Twin Interlocking Bass Lines Played By Herbie Flowers On Double Bass And Overdubbed Fretless Bass Guitar. In An Interview On BBC Radio 4 "Playing Second Fiddle" Aired July 2005 Flowers Claimed That The Reason He Came Up With The Twin Bass Line Was That As A Session Musician He Would Be Paid Double For Playing Two Instruments On The Same Track. In The 2001 Documentary Classic Albums Lou Reed Transformer Reed Says That It Was Nelson Algren's 1956 Novel A Walk On The Wild Side That Was The Launching Point For The Song Even Though As It Grew The Song Became Inhabited By Characters From His Own Life. As With Several Other Reed Songs From The 1970s The Title May Also Be An Allusion To An Earlier Song In This Case Mack David And Elmer Bernstein's Song Of The Same Name The Academy Award-Nominated Title Song Of The 1962 Film Based On Algren's Novel. Citation Needed During His Performance Of The Song On His 1978 Live Take No Prisoners Album Reed Humorously Explains The Song's Development From A Request That He Wrote The Music For The Never Completed Musical Version Of Algren's Novel. Hip Hop Group A Tribe Called Quest Also Sampled The Song On Their 1991 Single "Can I Kick It?".
50 Similar Tracks:
Lou Reed - Satellite Of Love Lou Reed - Vicious Rod Stewart - Maggie May Paul Simon - 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover Iggy Pop - The Passenger The Velvet Underground - Sweet Jane Neil Young - Heart Of Gold Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone America - A Horse With No Name Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water Eagles - Hotel California The Velvet Underground - Some Kinda Love T. Rex - Get It On Cat Stevens - Wild World Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run David Bowie - Life On Mars? Elton John - Rocket Man I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time The Who - Baba O'Riley David Bowie - Starman The Who - Behind Blue Eyes Steve Miller Band - The Joker Don McLean - American Pie Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have You Ever Seen The Rain Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven Supertramp - Give A Little Bit Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl Steely Dan - Dirty Work George Harrison - My Sweet Lord Bob Dylan - Hurricane George Harrison - My Sweet Lord 2020 Mix Patti Smith - Because The Night Van Morrison - Moondance Fleetwood Mac - Dreams 2001 Remaster Elton John - Tiny Dancer Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Our House Simon & Garfunkel - Cecilia Billy Joel - Piano Man Janis Joplin - Me And Bobby McGee John Lennon - Imagine The Doobie Brothers - Listen To The Music Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill Supertramp - The Logical Song The Doors - Love Her Madly Carole King - It's Too Late The Rolling Stones - Angie The Doobie Brothers - Long Train Runnin' Fleetwood Mac - Landslide Steely Dan - Do It Again Led Zeppelin - Going To California Jackson Browne - Running On Empty
POPULAR
TRACKS
MIXES
ALBUMS
Video 1 : 50
Music Tags for Lou Reed:
Biography - Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed March 2 1942 – October 27 2013 Was An American Musician Songwriter And Poet. He Was The Guitarist Singer And Principal Songwriter For The Rock Band The Velvet Underground And Had A Solo Career That Spanned Five Decades. Although Not Commercially Successful During Its Existence The Velvet Underground Became Regarded As One Of The Most Influential Bands In The History Of Underground And Alternative Rock Music. Reed's Distinctive Deadpan Voice Poetic And Transgressive Lyrics And Experimental Guitar Playing Were Trademarks Throughout His Long Career. Having Played Guitar And Sung In Doo-Wop Groups In High School Reed Studied Poetry At Syracuse University Under Delmore Schwartz And Had Served As A Radio DJ Hosting A Late-Night Avant Garde Music Program While At College. After Graduating From Syracuse He Went To Work For Pickwick Records In New York City A Low-Budget Record Company That Specialized In Sound-Alike Recordings As A Songwriter And Session Musician. A Fellow Session Player At Pickwick Was John Cale Together With Sterling Morrison And Angus MacLise They Would Form The Velvet Underground In 1965. After Building A Reputation On The Avant Garde Music Scene They Gained The Attention Of Andy Warhol Who Became The Band's Manager They In Turn Became Something Of A Fixture At The Factory Warhol's Art Studio And Served As His "house Band" For Various Projects. The Band Released Their First Album Now With Drummer Moe Tucker And Featuring German Singer Nico In 1967 And Parted Ways With Warhol Shortly Thereafter. Following Several Lineup Changes And Three More Little-Heard Albums Reed Quit The Band In 1970. After Leaving The Band Reed Would Go On To A Much More Commercially Successful Solo Career Releasing Twenty Solo Studio Albums. His Second Transformer 1972 Was Produced By David Bowie And Arranged By Mick Ronson And Brought Him Mainstream Recognition. The Album Is Considered An Influential Landmark Of The Glam Rock Genre Anchored By Reed's Most Successful Single "Walk On The Wild Side". After Transformer The Less Commercial But Critically Acclaimed Berlin Peaked At No. 7 On The UK Albums Chart. Rock 'n' Roll Animal A Live Album Released In 1974 Sold Strongly And Sally Can't Dance 1974 Peaked At No. 10 On The Billboard 200 But For A Long Period After Reed's Work Did Not Translate Into Sales Leading Him Deeper Into Drug Addiction And Alcoholism. Reed Cleaned Up In The Early 1980s And Gradually Returned To Prominence With The Blue Mask 1982 And New Sensations 1984 Reaching A Critical And Commercial Career Peak With His 1989 Album New York. Reed Participated In The Re-Formation Of The Velvet Underground In The 1990s And Made Several More Albums Including A Collaboration Album With John Cale Titled Songs For Drella Which Was A Tribute To Their Former Mentor Andy Warhol. Magic And Loss 1992 Would Become Reed's Highest-Charting Album On The UK Albums Chart Peaking At No. 6. He Contributed Music To Two Theatrical Interpretations Of 19th Century Writers One Of Which He Developed Into An Album Titled The Raven. He Married His Third Wife Laurie Anderson In 2008 And Recorded The Collaboration Album Lulu With Metallica. He Died In 2013 Of Liver Disease. Reed Has Been Inducted Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Twice As A Member Of The Velvet Underground In 1996 And As A Solo Act In 2015. Full Wikipedia Article Https //en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/Lou_Reed Studio Albums
Lou Reed 1972 Transformer 1972 Berlin 1973 Rock 'n' Roll Animal 1974 Sally Can't Dance 1974 Metal Machine Music 1975 Coney Island Baby 1975 Rock And Roll Heart 1976 Street Hassle 1978 The Bells 1979 Growing Up In Public 1980 The Blue Mask 1982 Legendary Hearts 1983 New Sensations 1984 Mistrial 1986 New York 1989 Magic And Loss 1992 Set The Twilight Reeling 1996 Ecstasy 2000 The Raven 2003 Hudson River Wind Meditations 2007 read less
read more
Lou Reed 1972 Transformer 1972 Berlin 1973 Rock 'n' Roll Animal 1974 Sally Can't Dance 1974 Metal Machine Music 1975 Coney Island Baby 1975 Rock And Roll Heart 1976 Street Hassle 1978 The Bells 1979 Growing Up In Public 1980 The Blue Mask 1982 Legendary Hearts 1983 New Sensations 1984 Mistrial 1986 New York 1989 Magic And Loss 1992 Set The Twilight Reeling 1996 Ecstasy 2000 The Raven 2003 Hudson River Wind Meditations 2007 read less
16 Similar Artists To Lou Reed - Frogtoon Music
The Velvet Underground Lou Reed & John Cale John Cale Iggy Pop Bob Dylan Patti Smith David Bowie Leonard Cohen Richard Hell And The Voidoids Neil Young The Stooges T. Rex Roxy Music The Kinks Johnny Thunders Television.
"Walk on the Wild Side" is a Lou Reed song from his 1972 second solo album Transformer. It was produced by David Bowie. The song received wide radio coverage, despite its touching on taboo topics such as transsexuality, drugs, male prostitutes and oral sex. In the United States, RCA released an edited version of the song as a single which eliminated the song's reference to oral sex.
The lyrics, describing a series of individuals and their journeys to New York City, refer to several of the regular "superstars" at Andy Warhol's New York studio, The Factory, namely Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis and Joe Campbell (referred to in the song by his nickname Sugar Plum Fairy). Candy Darling was also the subject of Reed's earlier song for The Velvet Underground, Candy Says.
The saxophone solo played over the fadeout of the song was performed by Ronnie Ross, who had taught David Bowie to play the saxophone during Bowie's childhood.
The backing vocals were sung by Thunderthighs, a girl group that included founder Dari Lallou together with Karen Friedman, Jacki Campbell and Casey Synge.
The single peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts in early 1973.
Like many of Reed's songs, "Walk On The Wild Side" is based on a plagal cadence, alternating from C to F. The F is played as a sixth chord. The pre-chorus introduces the major second, D Major, although in some live performances this was changed to D minor, resulting in a completely diatonic song.
The song is also noted for its twin interlocking bass lines played by Herbie Flowers on double bass and overdubbed fretless bass guitar. In an interview on BBC Radio 4 ("Playing Second Fiddle", aired July 2005), Flowers claimed that the reason he came up with the twin bass line was that as a session musician he would be paid double for playing two instruments on the same track.
In the 2001 documentary Classic Albums: Lou Reed: Transformer, Reed says that it was Nelson Algren's 1956 novel, A Walk on the Wild Side, that was the launching point for the song, even though, as it grew, the song became inhabited by characters from his own life. As with several other Reed songs from the 1970s, the title may also be an allusion to an earlier song, in this case Mack David and Elmer Bernstein's song of the same name, the Academy Award-nominated title song of the 1962 film based on Algren's novel.[citation needed] During his performance of the song on his 1978 Live: Take No Prisoners album, Reed humorously explains the song's development from a request that he wrote the music for the never completed musical version of Algren's novel.
Hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest also sampled the song, on their 1991 single "Can I Kick It?".
Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.