I remember a scene in that 70s show… hyde was talking about moving to NYC… Forman was opposed to the idea and told him “here… youre like the coolest guy in point place.. but in new york? They have lou reed man!”
Listened to this in my 20’s, just turned 76. Do not remember being too surprised by the lyrics, the 70’s were wild times, but some of us learned to be accepting of everyone through artists like Lou Reed. You two are great.
@@vampiregirl123 I feel you, Cindy! Was born in Dec '67 - so virtually '68, and when I was younger I was so frustrated that I was born too late. Would've been a hippy too :-)
ahh, you still have a childs mind, "accepting of everyone" thinking people didn't, people of sanity and maturity just don't like criminals who push their crap on others.
@@celebrityinhiding4938 surprisingly you took the time to comment on it then, and sure your opinion can be such but tens of millions of just TH-cam views would disagree
Lou Reed met the people mentioned in the song in Andy Warhol's factory in New York in the 1960's. He was bisexual and had intimate relations with most if not all of them. Holly and Candy acted in Warhol films and also rented themselves to clients to pay for their transitions. They were among the first famous trans people in America. Joe Dallesandro was the projector room operator in an infamous NY gay adult theater where he serviced his male clients on a couch in the projector room while the films played, he made a lot more money than his salary! He later went on to star in underground gay porn films as well as Warhol cult classics. The connection was all of them, including Reed, were hustlers when they were broke.
This song was so far ahead of its time. All the subjects (trans gender, drugs, oral sex) in the song were definitely taboo in polite society. Released in 1972, produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson. And the colored girls go Do do do do do…… that was about the only part that was not controversial at the time. How times change.
Agreed. Even when he made the song, that reference was made somewhat ironically, speaking more to how outsiders see that sort of urban culture--it's a little bit like how Mark Knopfler used the epithet in 'Money For Nothing.'
Guarantee you this song was on the airwaves before 1972, as were several other Reed songs. I'm sure 72 is accurate for the "Transformer" LP, just not for this song. At least summer of '71, if not earlier. It was quite popular already in Seattle that summer, and we moved from Seattle to California in December of 71.
David Bowie produced this, and the great Sonny Rollins played the Sax solo. Crushingly good. Still sounds fresh, 50 years later. This is part of the deep underground punk scene in NYC in the late 60's/early 70's. This was super underground and people thought it would warp minds.
Lou Reed was a mix of musician and beat poet, and this was his remembrance of people who lived in the heart, spleen, and less mentionable organs of 1960's New York City.
I read these were all actual people Lou Reed knew in the 60s from the Greenwich Village party scene in the ‘60s. This was the avant-garde counter culture scene that also included Andy Warhol.
They were all Warhol Superstars: Candy Darling (“Candy”), Holly Woodlawn (“Holly”), Jackie Curtis (“Jackie”), and Joe Dallesandro (“Little Joe”). The only one not directly mentioned by name was Joe Campbell (“Sugar Plum Fairy”), who hung around Warhol’s factory during the the 1960s and early 1970s.
Lou Reed was married to performance artist Laurie Anderson 2008 until his death in 2013; they met in 1992. Anderson has her own successful music career that is also based on spoken word. Her 'songs' come across as hypnotic and thought-provoking and play with sound. "Language Is A Virus", "O Superman", "Sharkey's Day"...
Lou Reed was in a band the Velvet Underground. They were the house band at The Factory in NYC’s Bowery. The artist Andy Warhol did all his art there. All the people in the song were real. Many starred in Warhol films. This is a really great song.
@@davidcopson5800 do you know why he said "and the colored girls..."? That has bemused me since I'm sure Lou wasn't racist. I've never been able to figure the symbolism in this.
All these characters mentioned in the song were real people who Lou knew from Andy Warhol's Factory studio back in the 60s. Song was produced by his mate, David Bowie who also happens to play the sax at the end of the track.
The song's lyrics refer to several of the regulars at Andy Warhol's New York studio, the Factory. Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis and Joe Campbell (referred to in the song by the nickname "Sugar Plum Fairy") after a role he played in the film ‘My Hustler’.
The several personal vignettes in this song represent people waaay ahead of their time in the late 1960s; if marketed correctly this tune of Lou's, as well as The Kinks' "Lola", would make more money than originally realized.
Entire album “Transformer” is phenomenal; there isn’t a single bad song on there. Lou Reed was a legend. You should also check out “Heroin” by The Velvet Underground (Lou Reed was their lead singer). “Pale Blue Eyes” is another great VU classic.
David Bowie was the producer on Transformers and some writing credits if I remember rt. I do agree they should do Velvet Underground and play Heroin and Sweet Jane
I remember when this was played on the radio. I don't think you'd ever hear this on the radio anymore. It's definitely a wild song. Pretty raw. I'm not into that world, but I like music that is real and tells real stories.
There is a sweetness to this song that defies expectations. I love the way the song treats all the characters with compassion and understanding, acknowledging their humanity. Surprisingly, this was released uncensored and was played regularly on the radio. It was also produced by David Bowie, who helped Lou Reed achieve such a clean uncluttered atmosphere. A delightful reaction.
'72. I remember a girl in college in '85 used this song as background music for her art project. Then she narrated over it without the help of basic sound engineering. It was a train wreck.
Brad nailed it with the spoken word reference. That's what Lou Reed does... somewhere between spoken word and singing. Saw him live once. He holds your attention. And definitely New York. Lou lived in and sang about New York. You can almost smell the 1970's streets of New York when you listen to this.
Burning garbage cans, peep shoes on 42nd street, junkies passed out in Alphabet City, subways that smelled like piss and had no air conditioning, beer in bags from Korean bodegas, “loosie” cigarettes, 3 card Monte…
This was the first song my mother and I truly bonded over, I was very into punk as a teenage skater and I hated her tunes in the car until Lou Reed and things started to change between us for the better from there on out. This song will always be special to me :)
I laughed so hard at the look on ya'll's faces after the first verse. Lou was such a character. Saw him in concert once in the 80's and he had such a cool personality. Remember all of us just shouting "Looouu" throughout the show, lol. RIP
@@vivianphillips8519 Could have been a small town you lived in? FM came out in 1959 in Tulsa and we could listen to everything starting with the Beatles on your home stereo if you had an fm receiver. Most cars only had am radios and our carry along transistors were am only unless your friends who had a few more bucks could afford a radio with fm, and they were about $10 more back in 1967 or so when I was in 6th grade. Those were the days!
Lou Reed always tackled the seedy underbelly of NYC, and life in general. The album New York is brilliant, If dated. He actually changed the lyrics to “and the backup singers go…” later on in live performances, because he knew better. As others have stated, all the people he mentions were/are real people that he either knew, or knew of through Andy Warhol’s “factory”
So many things to unpack with this song. I spit my coffee out when Lex’s eyes bugged out when Lou sang “then he was a she”. I just found your channel today and have watched quite a few of your videos, this was the best reaction yet
Lou Reed was so cool, he made having minimal skill seem like a stylistic achievement. Very influential. I remember having a mix tape I made that just said "Lou Dave Iggy" as the mood of some of his songs fit with the mood of Iggy Pop's Lust For Life and some of Bowie's work from that period, especially Young Americans. Before being a solo artist he had a band called The Velvet Underground who are well respected. I recall there being a song called "Lisa Says", "Stephanie Says", and maybe one called "Carolyn Says" also (not sure) on the same album. It works sometimes when artists don't seem to give a F about the audience.
You guys are awesome! Ms. Lex you are really cool! You are open to hearing different Genres of music. Oh yeah, you have a wonderful personality and your laugh is contagious!!
The first time I heard this song was over forty years ago and I'm still trying to figure it out. Brad, You hear it once and come up with "Get down different". You nailed it.
Highly recommend his "Rock 'n' Roll" from 'Rock n Roll Animal' album. This live recording features guitarists Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter. This should be played LOUD, so your neighbors can enjoy it too.
I was 13 years old when I first heard this song. I thought it was beautiful. The song gave a glimpse of city life (in NewYork in this case), and the city’s underbelly. The saxophone solo at the end just did it for me. This song is a classic and will still be heard long after we’re gone. P.S. Just a post script (a long one!) but it was because of this song by Lou Reed, that I learnt of Patti Smith. I bought her album Horses around 1976/77, which was a blinding piece of work! I was so into her music that one of my sisters got me her autobiography, Just Kids, as a birthday present. I was born in 1960, but given the music then, I wish I was born in 1950! Artists during that time were diverse, innovative, pushing the limits and downright naffing brilliant! All we have now (apart from a few exceptions) are what I call conveyor belt, or factory singers. The same weak styles that rely on some “sexy” choreography until the song goes stale and the performers have to trot out the same weak “product” with different words that might get the teenagers excited for an hour or two. I know I sound like an old git, but music today (and I use the term loosely, is nothing more than mass-produced crap. I feel sorry for your generation. P.P.S. Listen to Horses, by Patti Smith, especially Kimberly. If that doesn’t get you, then your dead inside! That being said, all the best!
This song has 2 basses on it to create that larger than life atmospheric sound. It had a regular electric bass and an upright double bass played by Herbie Flowers. There's a Classic Albums show about this whole album but this song was the huge hit off of Transformer. The song Makeup from that same album also had that cool bass sound on it as well.
This came on after seeing a show in Lawrence, KS and putting a couple pieces of paper under my tongue. That drum roll perfectly matched up with a train running next to us. I FELT America.
Just a little pointer this was sampled in a hip hop track... Can I kick it ( yes you can ) .Lou Reed was wild, a great musician and human being. Great to see these reactions. Nice one all. Great content
"Walk on the Wild Side" is a song by Lou Reed from his second solo album, Transformer (1972). It was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson and released as a double A-side with "Perfect Day".[3] Known as a counterculture anthem,[4] the song received wide radio coverage[5] and became Reed's biggest hit[6][7] and signature song[8] while touching on topics considered taboo at the time, such as transgender people, drugs, male prostitution, and oral sex.[9] The song's 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; the song mentions Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis and Joe Campbell (referred to in the song by the nickname "Sugar Plum Fairy
I was looking at Brad with an expectant look. Then I burst out laughing when I looked at Lex, and she was giving him the very same look--like we were both waiting to see what angle resulted from Brad bouncing off the song.
The people in the song were people Lou knew from Andy Warhol's The Factory. Both Lou and David Bowie were involved with that whole NYC art scene in the late 60's and early 70's. For example, Lou talks about how Candy came from out on the Island. The Island is long island. Long Island includes Brooklyn, Queens and The Hamptons.
The great Lou Reed, what a great song, Lou exalts everyone that he mentions in this song. He lived a very wild life and sang about what he experienced.
Lou Reed was a New Yorker, singing about people in NYC, real people. New York was the place in 1970s to take a walk on the wild side. It was so much fun back then
Lou Reed had so many moments of absolute brilliance. He explored the gritty NY underground of sex and drugs, so not everyone wants to go there. NY in the 60s and 70s is way different than it is today. But if you go you will be entertained.
Nico's "Chelsea Girls" -- written by Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison, whom she sang with in the Velvet Underground" -- is a nice companion song. Also works as a companion to the VU's "Run Run Run."
When Southern California had the Pacific Electric "Red Car" railway system in the first half of the 20th century my grandfather was a train conductor on the Figueroa Street route, from Downtown Los Angeles to Eagle Rock. Back then there were artist enclaves along the route, particularly in an area called Garvanza.
The name Garvanza fell out of use for a while, and it was considered just a part of Highland Park. There was an ostrich ranch on the Pasadena side of the Arroyo Seco. Ostrich feathers were in high demand for fashion and such. There was an artist studio that specialized in custom tiles on York, right by that bridge across the Arroyo . . . and it’s still there last I checked. Source: My grandmother came to L.A. in 1900 from Japan, and her family lived in Highland Park and South Pasadena during that time and after the war. I’m not sure of the year, but in the late 40s she and my grandfather were able to buy back their house in South Pasadena. She lived in that house on Fremont until she died. My Grandfather attended Occidental College before he met my grandma, and many years later I attended the same college. I know those neighborhoods well.
@@MarcosElMalo2 I have read about the Pasadena ostriches and their feathers, very Victorian. The tile studio may have been an outlet of the renown Batchelder tiles, made in Pasadena. Batchelder tiles are all over fireplaces in the Bungalow Heaven & S. Orange Grove districts.
I was 17 when this song came out.....heard it on my car radio...and could NOT believe my ears! Curious lyrics, to say the least. But I must say I think I almost drove off the road when Reed sang 'even when she was givin' head"..!!! You've got to remember that this was 1972! The "sexual revolution" was still in it's infancy and most working familys like the one I was from were good church going people. It's amazing that this got past the censors. I'm glad it did. One of the coolest songs out there albeit a little..well...umm...quirky! Thanks for reviewing it, Brad and Lex....BTW, Brad, your reaction to the "giving head" line was exactly the same as mine LOL.
In the dictionary it should say: COOL: See Lou Reed Check out "The Great American Whale" and the album on which it resides. Masterful. Great fun to watch y'all react to this. Peace. db
The people in this song are Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Joe Campbell (played a film role called Sugar Plum Fairy) and Jackie Curtis. They were the "superstars" at Andy Warhol's New York studio, the Factory.
Check out the song “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed. Lou is from NYC, and his first band was The Velvet Underground. You should check out some of their songs. I recommend anything from their album ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’. The Velvet Underground was basically created and funded by Andy Warhol.
Lou was hanging out at the Factory, which is where he met the people the characters in this song are based on. He tells the story of how he was commissioned to write the song during the Take No Prisoners album. It's pretty hilarious. He also shouts out Springsteen and talks shit on MTV for not playing music by POC.
Ther current culture today, wouldn't let this song ever hit the airwaves of radio. Glad I grew up in the 70s when folks weren't so "Woke". We were cool with this stuff. Lou Reed was Bisexual, so he was actually singing about the world he lived in. Love this song. Thanks Folks
This song always brings back memories of my oldest sister grooving on Lou Reed when I was really little. When I actually understood what this song was later I realized why my parents weren’t down with her listening to it. Lol
"Colored girls" is a metaphor for something altogether different than what you thought. It means girls who are into anything and everything. Thanks for this one! This is my favorite Lou Reed song.
I first remember hearing this song back in 1972. The politically correct police would shit their pants if this song came out today. Hell they wouldn’t even ALLOW this song to come out today. Yet they play it on the classic rock stations all the time. go figure. The bass guitar line really makes the song. 🎵🎶💕🤘👍
50 years after its release, this song still sounds as cool as ever.
Dadgum! 50 years? I'm "only" 45, but that blows my mind. That seriously freaks me out. I feel really, really old.
or as uncool as ever........i feel like i have to wash my hands
I remember a scene in that 70s show… hyde was talking about moving to NYC… Forman was opposed to the idea and told him “here… youre like the coolest guy in point place.. but in new york? They have lou reed man!”
Absolutely 💯
It doesn’t get much better than this, folks… 😎
Listened to this in my 20’s, just turned 76. Do not remember being too surprised by the lyrics, the 70’s were wild times, but some of us learned to be accepting of everyone through artists like Lou Reed. You two are great.
Yes
I feel like I should've been born before I was (1968). I would've been a hippie.
@@vampiregirl123 I feel you, Cindy! Was born in Dec '67 - so virtually '68, and when I was younger I was so frustrated that I was born too late. Would've been a hippy too :-)
Hey, 77 now and still rockin'. keep it goin' ........
ahh, you still have a childs mind, "accepting of everyone" thinking people didn't, people of sanity and maturity just don't like criminals who push their crap on others.
All the characters in the song were real people, Lou certainly was on the wild side.
Is he still alive?
@@michaelasay8587 He died in 2013
Horrible music
@@celebrityinhiding4938 surprisingly you took the time to comment on it then, and sure your opinion can be such but tens of millions of just TH-cam views would disagree
I love this song. He was friends with Andy Warhol.
Lou Reed met the people mentioned in the song in Andy Warhol's factory in New York in the 1960's. He was bisexual and had intimate relations with most if not all of them. Holly and Candy acted in Warhol films and also rented themselves to clients to pay for their transitions. They were among the first famous trans people in America. Joe Dallesandro was the projector room operator in an infamous NY gay adult theater where he serviced his male clients on a couch in the projector room while the films played, he made a lot more money than his salary! He later went on to star in underground gay porn films as well as Warhol cult classics. The connection was all of them, including Reed, were hustlers when they were broke.
Best comment.
I always thought the 'colored girls' looked at all of them, wondered and walked away. Where their high heels made the do do do do sound
This song was so far ahead of its time. All the subjects (trans gender, drugs, oral sex) in the song were definitely taboo in polite society. Released in 1972, produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson. And the colored girls go Do do do do do…… that was about the only part that was not controversial at the time. How times change.
It was controversial but all was forgiven when the 'colored girls' go Do do do do do. And if that wasn't enough, they hit you with that sax.
Agreed. Even when he made the song, that reference was made somewhat ironically, speaking more to how outsiders see that sort of urban culture--it's a little bit like how Mark Knopfler used the epithet in 'Money For Nothing.'
And now it's ok if the people of color go Do do do do do, because everything old is new again.
Guarantee you this song was on the airwaves before 1972, as were several other Reed songs. I'm sure 72 is accurate for the "Transformer" LP, just not for this song. At least summer of '71, if not earlier. It was quite popular already in Seattle that summer, and we moved from Seattle to California in December of 71.
@ Leonard Inabinet Is Mick Ronson the father of Mark Ronson, a very good producer & musician both British & American?
David Bowie produced this, and the great Sonny Rollins played the Sax solo. Crushingly good. Still sounds fresh, 50 years later. This is part of the deep underground punk scene in NYC in the late 60's/early 70's. This was super underground and people thought it would warp minds.
Ronnie Ross played the sax solo.
back in my lttle country town it was played on am radio, to promote to kidults, they said it was underground.
Thank you I love David Bowie
These were actual people he knew and partied with
Lou Reed was a mix of musician and beat poet, and this was his remembrance of people who lived in the heart, spleen, and less mentionable organs of 1960's New York City.
I read these were all actual people Lou Reed knew in the 60s from the Greenwich Village party scene in the ‘60s. This was the avant-garde counter culture scene that also included Andy Warhol.
These are the exact people. This is all Andy Warhol footage: th-cam.com/video/RsVLIiI8Vfo/w-d-xo.html
@@lipby here’s a great info video th-cam.com/video/y0fFpwHSAvg/w-d-xo.html
They were all Warhol Superstars: Candy Darling (“Candy”), Holly Woodlawn (“Holly”), Jackie Curtis (“Jackie”), and Joe Dallesandro (“Little Joe”). The only one not directly mentioned by name was Joe Campbell (“Sugar Plum Fairy”), who hung around Warhol’s factory during the the 1960s and early 1970s.
Christopher Street in Greenwich Village was known as a " gay " street with gay bars and a homosexual community ! 🤫🤐😘
Lou Reed, more a beat poet than a singer, he could write those lyrics and the pictures would be in your head. This is one of my all time favorites.
Agreed. Gotta definitely make sure you guys listen to some of his other songs
I'm not sure I want those pictures in my head. 😂
Lou Reed was married to performance artist Laurie Anderson 2008 until his death in 2013; they met in 1992.
Anderson has her own successful music career that is also based on spoken word. Her 'songs' come across as hypnotic and thought-provoking and play with sound. "Language Is A Virus", "O Superman", "Sharkey's Day"...
So underrated as a musician and lyricist!
"Is like Lola?" LOL! That made my day! Lex's laugh always makes me smile. Love you guys! ;)
It's pretty amazing that in 1972 Lou Reed is covering trans, gay prostitution, oral sex, and drugs, all in one song.
And to think they played it on mainstream top 40 radio.
@@FlamesCagney
Amazing when you think about it. They played it all the time and everybody loved and still loves it.
in the 70 people were much freer than now.
I think it's a lot more amazing that people are still shocked by it...
and they played it on the radio, and no one's parents seemed to notice, lol
Lou Reed was in a band the Velvet Underground. They were the house band at The Factory in NYC’s Bowery. The artist Andy Warhol did all his art there. All the people in the song were real. Many starred in Warhol films. This is a really great song.
The backing vocals are sung by Thunderthighs, a vocal group that included Dari Lalou, Karen Friedman, and Casey Synge
Ironically, the weren't black.
When they were asked if they could sing they all said at once "We doo, do doo, do doo, do doo, do doo".
@@EdwardGregoryNYC whaaaaaat? Really? I always imagined "the colored girls" at face value because they had that soul. Mind blown.
thank you, son of stone
@@davidcopson5800 do you know why he said "and the colored girls..."? That has bemused me since I'm sure Lou wasn't racist. I've never been able to figure the symbolism in this.
All these characters mentioned in the song were real people who Lou knew from Andy Warhol's Factory studio back in the 60s. Song was produced by his mate, David Bowie who also happens to play the sax at the end of the track.
Not quite, Ronnie Ross played the baritone sax on the song. He did however teach Bowie how to play the instrument when he was younger
The song's lyrics refer to several of the regulars at Andy Warhol's New York studio, the Factory. Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis and Joe Campbell (referred to in the song by the nickname "Sugar Plum Fairy") after a role he played in the film ‘My Hustler’.
One of my all time favorite songs. It may "sound simple" but there is a LOT of history going on in the lyrics and the music was perfectly understated.
The several personal vignettes in this song represent people waaay ahead of their time in the late 1960s; if marketed correctly this tune of Lou's, as well as The Kinks' "Lola", would make more money than originally realized.
The quintessential New York song: honest, raw, profane and compassionate.
Lou Reed was so amazing. Check out “Perfect Day”He was also the lead singer of Velvet Underground. One of the greatest rock bands of all time.
Entire album “Transformer” is phenomenal; there isn’t a single bad song on there. Lou Reed was a legend. You should also check out “Heroin” by The Velvet Underground (Lou Reed was their lead singer). “Pale Blue Eyes” is another great VU classic.
Perfect and well stated! =)
Lawyers, Guns, and Money
Don’t forget “Oh Sweet Nothin’”
David Bowie was the producer on Transformers and some writing credits if I remember rt.
I do agree they should do Velvet Underground and play Heroin and Sweet Jane
Transform truly transformed me. I've never been the same since I first heard it.
I remember when this was played on the radio. I don't think you'd ever hear this on the radio anymore. It's definitely a wild song. Pretty raw. I'm not into that world, but I like music that is real and tells real stories.
There is a sweetness to this song that defies expectations. I love the way the song treats all the characters with compassion and understanding, acknowledging their humanity. Surprisingly, this was released uncensored and was played regularly on the radio. It was also produced by David Bowie, who helped Lou Reed achieve such a clean uncluttered atmosphere. A delightful reaction.
Any program directors who understood the "giving head" line didn't explain it to their management :-)
@@jonmeltzer1361 I had the 45. That verse was omitted.
Funny how stuff from back then still seems to shock people so much. That guy definitely was ahead of the curve.
'72. I remember a girl in college in '85 used this song as background music for her art project. Then she narrated over it without the help of basic sound engineering. It was a train wreck.
Brad nailed it with the spoken word reference. That's what Lou Reed does... somewhere between spoken word and singing. Saw him live once. He holds your attention. And definitely New York. Lou lived in and sang about New York. You can almost smell the 1970's streets of New York when you listen to this.
Burning garbage cans, peep shoes on 42nd street, junkies passed out in Alphabet City, subways that smelled like piss and had no air conditioning, beer in bags from Korean bodegas, “loosie” cigarettes, 3 card Monte…
@@BadgerBJJ Things were " interesting " back then ! 🤔🤫😄
I can see Pedro sitting on the steps reading a book on Magic hoping he can disappear
I seen him in concert. He read the raven by Edgar Allen Poe over music and it was soooo amazing.
Lou Reed was a genius at spoken word. He was a uniquely unique human being.
This was the first song my mother and I truly bonded over, I was very into punk as a teenage skater and I hated her tunes in the car until Lou Reed and things started to change between us for the better from there on out. This song will always be special to me :)
Thanks for sharing, nice story
Cute story, thank you for sharing.
Thank you.
.
I love their reaction after that first verse. "Did I just hear what I think I heard?"
I laughed so hard at the look on ya'll's faces after the first verse. Lou was such a character. Saw him in concert once in the 80's and he had such a cool personality. Remember all of us just shouting "Looouu" throughout the show, lol. RIP
How good is that song, how great is that album, God bless Lou.
Considering this was on the radio in 1972-73, it was ahead of its time.
We always listened to it on fm radio when it came out, but not sure the am stations could play it or not due to the lyrics? (maybe they did?)
@@lantose I heard it constantly and we didn't have or hadn't discovered FM yet
@@vivianphillips8519 Could have been a small town you lived in? FM came out in 1959 in Tulsa and we could listen to everything starting with the Beatles on your home stereo if you had an fm receiver. Most cars only had am radios and our carry along transistors were am only unless your friends who had a few more bucks could afford a radio with fm, and they were about $10 more back in 1967 or so when I was in 6th grade. Those were the days!
@@lantose very small southern town and the only radio I listened to was in the car.
@@vivianphillips8519 Gotcha! We still fun though, as I had to listen to basically everything on am too! Have a great day!
Lou Reed always tackled the seedy underbelly of NYC, and life in general. The album New York is brilliant, If dated. He actually changed the lyrics to “and the backup singers go…” later on in live performances, because he knew better. As others have stated, all the people he mentions were/are real people that he either knew, or knew of through Andy Warhol’s “factory”
Part of the legend of Lou Reed begins here . He knew what people would say about him . He didnt care .
An acoustic and An electric bass in one track. Fantastic voice
Ah good catch, yea I hear that now.
Herbie Flowers is the bass player, a british session player.
So many things to unpack with this song. I spit my coffee out when Lex’s eyes bugged out when Lou sang “then he was a she”. I just found your channel today and have watched quite a few of your videos, this was the best reaction yet
I hope you’ve seen Lex’s reaction to Pink Floyd’s Mother. Priceless!
This has to be the most chill vibe song ever made. It’s a classic. An all-time fave.
Lou Reed was so cool, he made having minimal skill seem like a stylistic achievement. Very influential. I remember having a mix tape I made that just said "Lou Dave Iggy" as the mood of some of his songs fit with the mood of Iggy Pop's Lust For Life and some of Bowie's work from that period, especially Young Americans. Before being a solo artist he had a band called The Velvet Underground who are well respected. I recall there being a song called "Lisa Says", "Stephanie Says", and maybe one called "Carolyn Says" also (not sure) on the same album. It works sometimes when artists don't seem to give a F about the audience.
Ya, he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. But still recorded a song that left it's mark in music history.
@@BST-lm4po He recorded a LOT of songs that left their mark.
Young Americans is such an underrated album, and I think your talking about Candy Says.
It's all about the history of NYC in the late 60s, early 70s. Remarkable music.
Coney Island Baby should be your next Lou Reed tune. A sweet ballad. No, we're talking about the Village, NYC.
Perfect Day is a perfect song!!
Street Hassle
It's my favorite of his
I guarantee that the more times you listen to it, the more entrancing it gets. Love this.
Pale Blue Eyes is an absolute beautiful song by The Velvet Underground (the band Lou Reed was apart of)
You guys are awesome! Ms. Lex you are really cool! You are open to hearing different Genres of music. Oh yeah, you have a wonderful personality and your laugh is contagious!!
The first time I heard this song was over forty years ago and I'm still trying to figure it out. Brad, You hear it once and come up with "Get down different". You nailed it.
Highly recommend his "Rock 'n' Roll" from 'Rock n Roll Animal' album. This live recording features guitarists Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter. This should be played LOUD, so your neighbors can enjoy it too.
Difficult to believe there's anyone in the Western world who's never heard this song.
I know, I even remember hearing the sax part in a tv commercial not too long age
I love that you both get the nuances of this song, its time period, and the social statement that is still is.
LOVE YOU
Perfect description Brad: wild!
That was the 70’s art and music scene…
Lou Reed was very cool. ❤❤❤ His "TRANSFORMER" ALBUM WAS KILLER😍😍😍😍
Was in the VELVET UNDERGROUND, TOO👍👍👍
I have no idea how a person can watch your video reactions and not have the widest smile on their face.
Seriously great stuff. You both rock.
I was 13 years old when I first heard this song. I thought it was beautiful. The song gave a glimpse of city life (in NewYork in this case), and the city’s underbelly. The saxophone solo at the end just did it for me.
This song is a classic and will still be heard long after we’re gone.
P.S. Just a post script (a long one!) but it was because of this song by Lou Reed, that I learnt of Patti Smith. I bought her album Horses around 1976/77, which was a blinding piece of work! I was so into her music that one of my sisters got me her autobiography, Just Kids, as a birthday present.
I was born in 1960, but given the music then, I wish I was born in 1950! Artists during that time were diverse, innovative, pushing the limits and downright naffing brilliant! All we have now (apart from a few exceptions) are what I call conveyor belt, or factory singers. The same weak styles that rely on some “sexy” choreography until the song goes stale and the performers have to trot out the same weak “product” with different words that might get the teenagers excited for an hour or two.
I know I sound like an old git, but music today (and I use the term loosely, is nothing more than mass-produced crap. I feel sorry for your generation.
P.P.S. Listen to Horses, by Patti Smith, especially Kimberly. If that doesn’t get you, then your dead inside!
That being said, all the best!
This song has 2 basses on it to create that larger than life atmospheric sound. It had a regular electric bass and an upright double bass played by Herbie Flowers. There's a Classic Albums show about this whole album but this song was the huge hit off of Transformer. The song Makeup from that same album also had that cool bass sound on it as well.
This came on after seeing a show in Lawrence, KS and putting a couple pieces of paper under my tongue. That drum roll perfectly matched up with a train running next to us. I FELT America.
Classic song! There is a video on YT that shows the actual people edited to the song. It’s really cool!
Just a little pointer this was sampled in a hip hop track... Can I kick it ( yes you can ) .Lou Reed was wild, a great musician and human being. Great to see these reactions. Nice one all. Great content
"Walk on the Wild Side" is a song by Lou Reed from his second solo album, Transformer (1972). It was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson and released as a double A-side with "Perfect Day".[3] Known as a counterculture anthem,[4] the song received wide radio coverage[5] and became Reed's biggest hit[6][7] and signature song[8] while touching on topics considered taboo at the time, such as transgender people, drugs, male prostitution, and oral sex.[9]
The song's 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; the song mentions Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis and Joe Campbell (referred to in the song by the nickname "Sugar Plum Fairy
You need to watch "Sweet Jane" from Rock n Roll Animal.
The intro is one of the greatest instrumentals in all rock history.
This song paints a vivid picture of the vibe in NYC in the seventies.
I was looking at Brad with an expectant look. Then I burst out laughing when I looked at Lex, and she was giving him the very same look--like we were both waiting to see what angle resulted from Brad bouncing off the song.
The people in the song were people Lou knew from Andy Warhol's The Factory. Both Lou and David Bowie were involved with that whole NYC art scene in the late 60's and early 70's. For example, Lou talks about how Candy came from out on the Island. The Island is long island. Long Island includes Brooklyn, Queens and The Hamptons.
Lou Reed was so cool 😎! I wore out my New York cassette. Last Great American Whale, Dirty Blvd and Sick of You are great!
This is a just such a really relaxing song.
Simple and relaxing beat and melody.
The song refers to characters that surround the art community in New York in late sixties early seventies.
The great Lou Reed, what a great song, Lou exalts everyone that he mentions in this song. He lived a very wild life and sang about what he experienced.
Guarantee Lex will love Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane” from the album Rock n Roll Animal
Lou Reed was a New Yorker, singing about people in NYC, real people. New York was the place in 1970s to take a walk on the wild side. It was so much fun back then
just shows that we as a species are actually regressing instead of evolving can you even imagine trying to make a song like this in todays world ?....
This slid into AM radio and advertisements in the early seventies.
And little Joey still gives it away.
Peace on earth.
Lou Reed had so many moments of absolute brilliance. He explored the gritty NY underground of sex and drugs, so not everyone wants to go there. NY in the 60s and 70s is way different than it is today. But if you go you will be entertained.
Nico's "Chelsea Girls" -- written by Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison, whom she sang with in the Velvet Underground" -- is a nice companion song. Also works as a companion to the VU's "Run Run Run."
When Southern California had the Pacific Electric "Red Car" railway system in the first half of the 20th century my grandfather was a train conductor on the Figueroa Street route, from Downtown Los Angeles to Eagle Rock. Back then there were artist enclaves along the route, particularly in an area called Garvanza.
The name Garvanza fell out of use for a while, and it was considered just a part of Highland Park. There was an ostrich ranch on the Pasadena side of the Arroyo Seco. Ostrich feathers were in high demand for fashion and such. There was an artist studio that specialized in custom tiles on York, right by that bridge across the Arroyo . . . and it’s still there last I checked.
Source: My grandmother came to L.A. in 1900 from Japan, and her family lived in Highland Park and South Pasadena during that time and after the war. I’m not sure of the year, but in the late 40s she and my grandfather were able to buy back their house in South Pasadena. She lived in that house on Fremont until she died. My Grandfather attended Occidental College before he met my grandma, and many years later I attended the same college. I know those neighborhoods well.
@@MarcosElMalo2 I have read about the Pasadena ostriches and their feathers, very Victorian. The tile studio may have been an outlet of the renown Batchelder tiles, made in Pasadena. Batchelder tiles are all over fireplaces in the Bungalow Heaven & S. Orange Grove districts.
I was 17 when this song came out.....heard it on my car radio...and could NOT believe my ears! Curious lyrics, to say the least. But I must say I think I almost drove off the road when Reed sang 'even when she was givin' head"..!!! You've got to remember that this was 1972! The "sexual revolution" was still in it's infancy and most working familys like the one I was from were good church going people. It's amazing that this got past the censors. I'm glad it did. One of the coolest songs out there albeit a little..well...umm...quirky! Thanks for reviewing it, Brad and Lex....BTW, Brad, your reaction to the "giving head" line was exactly the same as mine LOL.
In the dictionary it should say:
COOL: See Lou Reed
Check out "The Great American Whale" and the album on which it resides. Masterful.
Great fun to watch y'all react to this. Peace. db
The people in this song are Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Joe Campbell (played a film role called Sugar Plum Fairy) and Jackie Curtis. They were the "superstars" at Andy Warhol's New York studio, the Factory.
Check out the song “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed. Lou is from NYC, and his first band was The Velvet Underground. You should check out some of their songs. I recommend anything from their album ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’. The Velvet Underground was basically created and funded by Andy Warhol.
The topic may be "out there" for me but the man created something.....BEAUTIFUL when he made this song. ART in its truest form
1972 was a different time. Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground hung out in Andy Warhol's Factory in NYC.
sounds like a horrible time.
I've got this song as my RINGER...the last chorus, plus, the sax...so beautiful! Loved ur reactions!🤎🤎
These are real people from Andy Warhol's scene.
Can't forget Iggy Pop! What a strange person ...
Loved your reaction. Lou was the definition of NYC cool. He was so chill and intense, all in the same breath.
Sweet Jane from the Rock and Roll Animal live album is awesome. Dual lead guitars
The best duo of Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner! 🎸🎸
Danced so much this one, Lou Reed was pure class, good times, great times, the best times of my life
Now that was a vibe! ♥
Lou Reed was one of the funniest, weirdest, kindest, people around. And he had amazing talent.
And Caged Elephant 'Ain't No Rest For The Wicked'.
Fantastic song!
Lou Reed was born in NYC and this song, as far as I know, touches on some of his experience in NYC.
I loved Lex's bug eyes when he sang "Then he was a she" Classic!
Beautiful. Thank you. Keep doing what you're doing!
One of my favorite saxophone solos in rock!
Probably because it's jazz.
Lou was hanging out at the Factory, which is where he met the people the characters in this song are based on. He tells the story of how he was commissioned to write the song during the Take No Prisoners album. It's pretty hilarious. He also shouts out Springsteen and talks shit on MTV for not playing music by POC.
Alright y'all need to check out Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun
Love lou a great poet and makes everyone think and writes about gritty stuff
Ther current culture today, wouldn't let this song ever hit the airwaves of radio. Glad I grew up in the 70s when folks weren't so "Woke".
We were cool with this stuff. Lou Reed was Bisexual, so he was actually singing about the world he lived in. Love this song.
Thanks Folks
That is not true, boomers at that time think that bisexuality or men with makeup were some satanic shit.
This song always brings back memories of my oldest sister grooving on Lou Reed when I was really little. When I actually understood what this song was later I realized why my parents weren’t down with her listening to it. Lol
I always ranked the sound of this song dead even with David Bowie’s “Golden Years” in terms of sheer Coolness.
“I like it’s simplicity” This song is anything but simple.
That's ok Brad, a lot of people are confused.
I am commenting before I watch/listen I can’t wait! Lol this is a classic… Brad please hang in there, Lex you’re gonna love it I think
"Colored girls" is a metaphor for something altogether different than what you thought. It means girls who are into anything and everything. Thanks for this one! This is my favorite Lou Reed song.
Sure.
Are you fk'n kidding me? It's literally a line spoken about the black back-up singers that sing what he's says in the very next part. *smh*
No. All the Motown, Stax, and other black music then had backup singers going "doo doo doo" .
something about the groove and the delivery Lou has that just flows and still sounds great!
I first remember hearing this song back in 1972. The politically correct police would shit their pants if this song came out today. Hell they wouldn’t even ALLOW this song to come out today. Yet they play it on the classic rock stations all the time. go figure. The bass guitar line really makes the song.
🎵🎶💕🤘👍
The production on this song is just immaculate.