The Velvet Underground & Nico Entry

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band that consisted of Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker, and Nico. Nico was a German singer/pursuing actress that joined the band in the 1967 The Velvet Underground & Nico album. During the 1960’s, the band was a very influential aspect of music involving experimental/punk rock that sparked interest in pop artist Andy Warhol who became The Velvet Underground’s manager for their 1967 album.

The primary songwriters of the band were members Lou Reed and John Cale. John came to America to take up the Bernstein Scholarship in 1963 and proceeded to work with composer La Monte Young in New York City. John played the viola by putting guitar strings on the instrument and played it with a bass bow that created a very unique sound for the band. Lou Reed attended Syracuse University and his main instrument was his vocals and the electric guitar. Lou was extremely passionate about incorporating reality into his rock music and played a major role in songwriting for the band.

Andy Warhol was the man who supported, managed, promoted, and produced the band’s album The Velvet Underground & Nico. He suggested that Nico be apart of the album and wanted to combine music, art, and film into one media. The band performed many shows for Andy and worked at his studio the Factory. Andy Warhol’s reputation really helped the band get recognized and had a significant impact on the band’s achievements.

The Velvet Underground’s music tremendously stood out from other pop bands during their time in the 1960’s. The band created an overall unique sound with Maureen Tucker’s simplistic drums, John Cale’s specialized viola, Sterling Morrison’s bluesy guitar, and Lou Reed’s vocals. The band wanted to stay away as well as stand out from the pop music scene back then by doing their own style of music and not participating in matched suits and choreographed routines. Another aspect of the band that set it apart from other popular recordings was the collaboration and vocals from female singer Nico. She sang a few songs on the album with a very interesting approach that made the band much different then other bands.

As a listener and industry professional, The Velvet Underground & Nico album shows how bands stay true to the music they want to perform. The band stayed clear from the poppy sound back then and introduced a style of music that would affect many bands to come. The music that the band played isn’t my favorite type of music, but I can hear the huge impact it had on the music industry in the 1960’s, especially with the involvement with Andy Warhol.