Rolling Stone and the New York Times report that Velvet Underground bandleader, noted solo artist, Rock n Roll pioneer Lou Reed has passed away today at age 71. Reed had a liver transplant earlier in the year, but the procedure was reported to have gone well.
More on the NY Times website (by Ben Ratliff) with excerpts below, as well as one of my favorite Lou Reed songs;
Lou Reed, the principal singer in the Velvet Underground, a band that had profound impact on the high-I.Q., low-virtuosity stratum of alternative and underground rock around the world, has died, his literary agent, Andrew Wylie, said on Sunday. He was 71.
Mr. Reed died on Long Island, Mr. Wylie said. “He was as great an artist as it’s possible to be, in my opinion,” Mr. Wylie said. Mr. Wylie said he believed that Mr. Reed’s death was related to a liver transplant he had this year.