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The walk continues for the late Lou Reed
By John Benson
Taking a walk on the wild side for the better part of 50 years, Lou Reed encapsulated the notion of the avant-garde musician working outside of the mainstream and speaking to the street-smart underbelly of society.
At first with The Velvet Underground and later as a solo artist, Reed was the archetypal alternative artist, the quintessence of sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.
Long before New York City was the Big Apple and Times Square was a tourist trap, Reed embraced the city’s dirty secrets, dark corridors and imperfect inhabitants with gusto. As a musician, he keenly embraced melody while simultaneously turning it on its side with an experimental bent that challenged listeners to keep up if they dare.
Influence-wise, everyone from David Bowie and R.E.M. to U2, Metallica and Arcade Fire covered Reed’s material. Invariably, his induction as a solo artist (Reed was already inducted in 1996 with The Velvet Underground) is well deserved.
Someone locally who saw Reed during his ’70s “Rock and Roll Animal” peak is former WMMS program director John Gorman.
“The tour that ended up being the live album [‘Rock ’n’ Roll Animal’], that was one of the best concerts I ever saw in my life,” said Gorman, who is co-owner of Internet radio station oWOW Radio (owownow.com). “I believe it was at the Allen Theatre.”
Gorman remembered during a performance of The Velvet Underground’s “Heroin,” the singer simulated shooting the drug on stage.
“He was an amazing performer and writer, and Cleveland was one of his best markets in the country in terms of sales and airplay,” Gorman said. “He was very popular in this region, but he was also an interesting character. When he came to Cleveland, he always put on the ‘Lou Reed’ character. You really never got to know the man.”
Music aside, Reed is known for his prickly personality, which for decades would confound and frustrate journalists. Gorman said he had a front-row seat for Reed’s caustic nature in the summer of 1974 when the freshly dyed blond-haired singer came to Northeast Ohio to promote his “Sally Can’t Dance” album.
Gorman and then-WMMS disc jockey Denny Sanders spent the entire day with Reed, who was in rare form. Basically, Gorman said Reed was an incessant contrarian who would argue about, well, everything.
“We were talking about a lot of the new music that was happening at the time coming out of England,” Gorman said. “The topic turned to Roxy Music. And I said, ‘They really brought something very fresh and exciting to music.’ Lou Reed goes, ‘I don’t like Roxy Music. I like Bryan Ferry’s solo stuff.’
“That was the typical conversation you’d have with Lou Reed. Every conversation with him would turn into a debate or point, counterpoint. It was really never a conversation.”
Gorman said later that same day came an infamous exchange between former WMMS afternoon disc jockey Kid Leo and Reed.
“Reed wasn’t very forthcoming during an on-air interview with Kid Leo,” Gorman said. “He had one-word answers. And at the very end, to try to lighten things up, Leo said, ‘Is it true blonds have more fun?’ And Lou Reed shot back, ‘Is it true you’re an asshole?’
“I never got mad at Leo for anything but that’s the one time I did. Leo could top anybody. If somebody insulted Leo, he’d come back with a better insult. And that time he just went right into the music. Leo could have had an answer. He controlled the microphone so he could have had the last word.”
Now, Reed’s last word is being inducted into the Rock Hall: A walk on the wild side, indeed.