Velvet Underground Entry

The Velvet Underground was a direct product of the Pop Art movement of the 1960s. Their goal was to marry the avant-garde and pop culture to create something revolutionary. They could not have done this without the support of the most popular artist at the time, Andy Warhol. If one could listen to Andy Warhol’s artwork it would sound like The Velvet Underground. This is probably why they were classified as “Art Rock”.

Velvet Underground consisted of Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker and Nico. Lou Reed and John Cale were the primary songwriters of the band. John Cale came to America to accept The Bernstein Scholarship and studied the viola under the tutelage of avant-garde composer La Monte Young. Lou Reed attended Syracuse University and had a radio show. There would be days when Lou would be loudly practicing his guitar, which caught the attention of fellow Syracuse student Sterling Morrison. They both played guitar but each had their own styles. Maureen Tucker joined the band in 1965 with no prior drum training. She kept the band steady as the other members would go on musical tangents. In 1966, Nico, an icy German vocalist, joined the band. Nico moved to New York to be a model but she found herself delving into acting. She somehow caught the eye of the legendary Bob Dylan, who introduced her to Andy Warhol.

Nico & The Velvet Underground would congregate at Andy Warhol’s studio, The Factory, to create their unique style of music. I would say the main characteristic that set them apart was their affiliation with art world. Andy Warhol had to have been the first popular artist to take a rock band under his wing and introduce them to the world like they were one of his art pieces. Even though Warhol was hugely successful, The Velvet Underground was not. They only released four albums that did not do particularly well. But the band was still massively influential. Today, the avant-garde musical style is much more accepted than it was when The Velvet Underground was around.

I have great respect for what The Velvet Underground tried to do with their music. I love the idea of giving the iconic works of Andy Warhol a soundtrack but their music does not intrigue me. They have some good songs, like “Pale Blue Eyes”, but nothing about their image or sound got me hooked. Even with that they are still a great band that etched its place in rock n’ roll history.