View source for The Velvet Underground

{{short description|American rock band}}
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{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = The Velvet Underground
| image             = Velvet Underground & Nico publicity photo (retouched).jpg
| caption           = The Velvet Underground and [[Nico]] in 1966. Clockwise from top left: [[Lou Reed]], [[Sterling Morrison]], [[John Cale]], [[Moe Tucker]] and [[Nico]]
| image_size        = 
| origin            = [[New York City]], New York, U.S.
| alias             = * The Warlocks
* The Falling Spikes
| genre             = {{hlist|[[Art rock]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Matthew|last=Bannister|title=White Boys, White Noise: Masculinities and 1980s Indie Guitar Rock|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ckLKGTXRwQC&pg=PA38|year=2007|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|page=38|isbn=978-0-7546-8803-7}}</ref>|{{nowrap|[[proto-punk]]}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Proto-Punk|url=http://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/proto-punk-ma0000005021|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=September 25, 2016}}</ref>|[[experimental rock]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Rosenberg|first=Stuart|title=Rock and Roll and the American Landscape: The Birth of an Industry and the Expansion of the Popular Culture, 1955–1969|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=736Mu91q_fcC&pg=PA179|page=179|year=2009|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-1-4401-6458-3}}</ref>}}
| years_active      = {{hlist|1964–1973|1990|1992–1993|1996}}
| label             = {{hlist|[[Verve Records|Verve]]|[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]|[[Polydor Records|Polydor]]|[[MGM Records|MGM]]|[[Mercury Records|Mercury]]|[[Cotillion Records|Cotillion]]<!--(1993–1994)--><!--The band's Verve, M·G·M and Mercury output is now being managed by [[Universal Music Group|UMG]] subsidiary Polydor.-->}}
| spinoff_of        = [[Theatre of Eternal Music]]
| current_members   = 
| past_members      = * [[Lou Reed]]
* [[John Cale]]
* [[Sterling Morrison]]
* [[Angus MacLise]]
* [[Moe Tucker]]
* [[Doug Yule]]
* [[Billy Yule]]
* [[Walter Powers (musician)|Walter Powers]]
* [[Willie Alexander]]
| website           = {{URL|velvetundergroundmusic.com}}
}}
'''The Velvet Underground''' were an American [[Rock music|rock]] band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist [[Lou Reed]], Welsh multi-instrumentalist [[John Cale]], guitarist [[Sterling Morrison]], and percussionist [[Moe Tucker]]. Though their integration of rock and the [[avant-garde]] earned them little commercial success during their initial nine-year run, they are now widely regarded as one of the most influential bands in rock music, as well as [[Underground music|underground]], [[Experimental music|experimental]], and [[Alternative music|alternative]] music.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20131125-do-the-velvets-beat-the-beatles |title=The Velvet Underground: As influential as The Beatles? |last=Kot |first=Greg |publisher=BBC |date=October 21, 2014 |access-date=November 25, 2016}}</ref> Their provocative subject matter and experimentation were instrumental in the development of [[punk rock]], [[new wave music|new wave]] and other genres.<ref name="bio">{{cite web|last1=Unterberger|first1=Richie|title=The Velvet Underground – Biography & History|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-velvet-underground-mn0000840402#biography|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=March 26, 2017}}</ref>

The group performed under several names before settling on the Velvet Underground in 1965, taken from the title of [[The Velvet Underground (book)|a 1963 book on atypical sexual behavior]]. In 1966, the experimental pop artist [[Andy Warhol]] became their official manager. They served as the [[house band]] at Warhol's studio, [[The Factory]], and performed with his traveling multimedia show, the ''[[Exploding Plastic Inevitable]]'', from 1966 to 1967. Their debut album, ''[[The Velvet Underground & Nico]],'' featuring the German singer and model [[Nico]], was released in 1967 to critical indifference and poor sales, although it has been later regarded as one of the greatest albums in music history.<ref name="RS 500 Greatest Albums List">[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/the-velvet-underground-and-nico-the-velvet-underground-52023/ RS 500 Greatest Albums List (2003)] November 18, 2003.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060316135338/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6597640/13_the_velvet_underground/ 13-The Velvet Underground and Nico] Rolling Stone, November 1, 2003</ref><ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/the-velvet-underground-the-velvet-underground-and-nico-1063210/ RS The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2023)]</ref><ref>[https://100best.music.apple.com/us/album/60 Apple Music 100 Best Albums (2024)]</ref><ref>[https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/greatest-albums/the-300-greatest-albums-of-all-time-2 Paste The 300 Greatest Albums Of All Time (2024)]</ref>

The band released their second album, the abrasive ''[[White Light/White Heat]]'', in 1968, after which Cale was replaced with [[Doug Yule]]. They then released two more accessible albums, ''[[The Velvet Underground (album)|The Velvet Underground]]'' (1969) and ''[[Loaded (The Velvet Underground album)|Loaded]]'' (1970), but neither performed to the expectations of record labels or de facto group leader Reed. In the early 1970s, all but Yule left the band for various reasons. A final album was released under the Velvet Underground name in 1973, ''[[Squeeze (The Velvet Underground album)|Squeeze]]'', recorded mostly by Yule with session musicians in London. The Velvet Underground dissolved shortly after. The former band members collaborated on each other's solo work throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and an album of long lost recordings of original songs, ''[[VU (album)|VU]]'', was released in 1985. Reed, Cale, Tucker and Morrison reunited for a series of well-received shows in 1993, and released a live album from the tour, ''[[Live MCMXCIII]]'', later that year.

After Morrison's death in 1995, the remaining members played their final performance at their [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] induction in 1996. Reed died in 2013. In 2004, the Velvet Underground were ranked number 19 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]''{{'}}s list of the "[[Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time|100 Greatest Artists of All Time]]".<ref>[[Julian Casablancas]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20060521064728/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939222/19_the_velvet_underground/ "The Velvet Underground" (No.&nbsp;19)], in [https://web.archive.org/web/20060316103016/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939214/the_immortals_the_first_fifty/ "The Immortals: The First Fifty"], ''Rolling Stone'', No.&nbsp;946 (April 15, 2004), accessed April 29, 2007.</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that the Velvet Underground was "arguably the most influential American rock band of our time".<ref>Bowman,  David. [https://web.archive.org/web/20131031023325/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/26/magazine/forever-decadent.html "Forever Decadent"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. April 26, 1998. Retrieved October 3, 2013.</ref>

== History ==
=== Pre-career and early stages (1964–1966) ===
The foundations for what would become the Velvet Underground were laid in late 1964. Singer-songwriter and guitarist [[Lou Reed]] had performed with a few short-lived [[Garage rock|garage bands]] and had worked as a songwriter for [[Pickwick Records]] (Reed described his tenure there as being "a poor man's [[Carole King]]").<ref name=Fricke>[[David Fricke]], [[liner notes]] for the ''[[Peel Slowly and See]]'' [[box set]] (Polydor, 1995).</ref> Reed met [[John Cale]], a [[Welshman]] who had moved to the United States to study classical music upon securing a [[Leonard Bernstein]] scholarship. Cale had worked with experimental composers [[John Cage]], [[Cornelius Cardew]] and [[La Monte Young]], and had performed with Young's [[Theatre of Eternal Music]], though was also interested in rock music.<ref>{{cite news|title=Incubator for the Velvet Underground|author=John Cale as told to Marc Myers|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323596204578241620759540276|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=January 20, 2013|access-date=January 27, 2013}}</ref> Young's use of extended [[Drone (music)|drones]] would be a profound influence on the band's early sound. Cale was pleasantly surprised to discover that Reed's experimentalist tendencies were similar to his own: Reed sometimes used alternative guitar tunings to create a droning sound. The pair rehearsed and performed together; their partnership and shared interests built the path towards what would later become the Velvet Underground.

Reed's first group with Cale was the Primitives, a short-lived group assembled to issue budget-priced recordings and support an anti-dance single written by Reed, "The Ostrich", to which Cale added a viola passage. Reed and Cale recruited [[Sterling Morrison]]—a college classmate of Reed's at [[Syracuse University]]—as a replacement for [[Walter De Maria]], who had been a third member of the Primitives.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=1216}}</ref> Reed and Morrison both played guitars, Cale played viola, keyboards and bass and [[Angus MacLise]] joined on percussion to complete the initial four-member unit. This quartet was first called the Warlocks, then the Falling Spikes.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CzWE_J3ZZfoC&pg=PA312 |page=312 |title=Icons of Rock |author=Scott Schinder |author2=Andy Schwartz |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |date=2008|isbn=978-0-313-33847-2}}</ref> ''[[The Velvet Underground (book)|The Velvet Underground]]'' by Michael Leigh was a contemporary mass market paperback about the secret sexual subculture of the early 1960s; Cale's friend and [[Theatre of Eternal Music|Dream Syndicate]] associate [[Tony Conrad]] showed it to the group, and MacLise made a suggestion to adopt the title as the band's name.<ref name=jovanovic>{{cite book |last1=Jovanovic |first1=Rob |title=Seeing the Light: Inside the Velvet Underground |date=2012 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-1-250-00014-9 |page=38 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UVsdu300fq8C&pg=PA38}}</ref> According to Reed and Morrison, the group liked the name, considering it evocative of "underground cinema", and fitting, as Reed had already written "[[Venus in Furs (song)|Venus in Furs]]", a song inspired by [[Leopold von Sacher-Masoch]]'s [[Venus in Furs|book of the same name]], which dealt with masochism. The band immediately and unanimously adopted "The Velvet Underground" as its new name in November 1965.

The newly named Velvet Underground rehearsed and performed in New York City. Their music was generally much more relaxed than it would later become: Cale described this era as reminiscent of [[Beat generation|beat]] poetry, with MacLise playing gentle "pitter and patter rhythms behind the drone".<ref>Quoted by David Fricke in his liner notes for the ''Peel Slowly and See'' box set ([[Polydor]], 1995).</ref>

In July 1965, Reed, Cale and Morrison recorded a [[demo tape]] at their [[Ludlow Street]] loft without MacLise, because he refused to be tied down to a schedule and would turn up to band practice sessions only when he wanted.<ref name="allmusic.com">{{cite web |author=Biography by Richie Unterberger |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/angus-maclise-mn0000756247/biography |title=Angus MacLise &#124; Biography & History |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Metzger |first=Richard |url=http://dangerousminds.net/comments/angus_maclise_original_velvet_underground_drummer |title=DREAMWEAPON: The Art and Life of Angus MacLise, original Velvet Underground drummer |work=DangerousMinds |date=May 10, 2011 |publisher=Dangerous Minds |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref> When he briefly returned to Britain, Cale attempted to give a copy of the tape to [[Marianne Faithfull]],<ref>[[John Cale]] & [[Victor Bockris]] ''What's Welsh For Zen'' London: Bloomsbury, 1999</ref> hoping she would pass it on to [[Mick Jagger]], lead singer of [[the Rolling Stones]]. Nothing ever came of this, but the demo was eventually released on the 1995 box set ''Peel Slowly and See''.

Manager and music journalist [[Al Aronowitz]] arranged for the group's first paying gig—$75 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|75|1965}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US}} to play at [[Summit High School (New Jersey)|Summit High School]], in Summit, New Jersey, opening for [[the Myddle Class]]. When they decided to take the gig, MacLise abruptly left the group, protesting what he considered a [[sellout]]; he was also unwilling to be told when to start and stop playing. "Angus was in it for art", Morrison reported.<ref name=Fricke />

MacLise was replaced by [[Moe Tucker|Maureen "Moe" Tucker]], the younger sister of Morrison's friend Jim Tucker. Tucker's playing style was rather unusual: she generally played standing up rather than seated and had an abbreviated [[Drum kit|drum setup]] of [[tom-toms]], [[Snare drum|snare]] and an upturned [[bass drum]], using [[Mallets#percussion mallets|mallets]] as often as drumsticks, and rarely using [[cymbals]] (she admits that she always hated cymbals).<ref>{{cite web|last=Coston |first=Daniel |url=http://danielcoston.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/moe-tucker-interview-1997-part-one.html |title=The Coston Chronicles: Moe Tucker interview, 1997, part one |website=Danielcoston.blogspot.com.au |date=October 29, 2013 |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref> When the band asked her to do something unusual, she turned her bass drum on its side and played standing up. After her drums were stolen from one club, she replaced them with garbage cans brought in from outside. Her rhythms, at once simple and exotic (influenced by the likes of [[Babatunde Olatunji]] and [[Bo Diddley]] as well as [[Charlie Watts]] of the Rolling Stones), became a vital part of the group's music, despite Cale's initial objections to the presence of a female drummer.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bockris|first1=Victor|title=Transformer: The Lou Reed Story|date=1994|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-684-80366-6|pages=99, 101|quote=Cale, horrified by the mere suggestion that a 'chick' should play in their great group, had to be placated by the promise that it was strictly temporary.|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/transformerlour000bock}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Hermes |first1=Will |date=October 12, 2021 |title='I Had a Lot of Fun With My Band': Maureen Tucker on 'Velvet Underground' Doc, Lou Reed, and Retirement |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/maureen-tucker-velvet-underground-documentary-interview-1239960/ |access-date=October 4, 2022 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> The group earned a regular paying gig at the Café Bizarre and gained an early reputation as a promising ensemble.

=== Andy Warhol and the ''Exploding Plastic Inevitable'' (1966–1967) ===
[[File:The Velvet Underground 1966.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Velvet Underground featured in the May 28, 1966, issue of ''[[KRLA Beat]]'']]
In 1965, after being introduced to the Velvet Underground by filmmaker [[Barbara Rubin]],<ref name="boo-hooray">{{cite web|last1=Kugelberg|first1=Johan|title=Christmas on Earth: Barbara Rubin|url=http://boo-hooray.com/exhibits/christmas-on-earth|website=Boo-Hooray Gallery |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140614041743/http://boo-hooray.com/exhibits/christmas-on-earth |archive-date=June 14, 2014 |access-date=April 5, 2016}}</ref> Andy Warhol became the band's manager and suggested they use the German-born singer [[Nico]] (born Christa Päffgen) on several songs. Warhol's reputation helped the band gain a higher profile. He helped the band secure a recording contract with MGM's Verve Records, with himself as nominal "[[record producer|producer]]", and gave the Velvets free rein over the sound they created.

During their stay with Andy Warhol, the band became part of his multimedia roadshow, ''[[Exploding Plastic Inevitable]]'', which combined Warhol's films with the band's music, which made use of minimalist devices, such as drones. Warhol included the band with his show in an effort to "use rock as a part of a larger, interdisciplinary-art work based around performance" (McDonald).{{full citation needed|date=February 2016}} They played shows for several months in New York City, then traveled throughout the United States and Canada until its last installment in May 1967.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://maxskansascity.com/classic/warhol/#section3|title=Andy Warhol Biography: From The Velvet Underground To Basquiat |website=Maxskansascity.com}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2018}} During a short period in September 1966, when Cale was ill, the avant-garde musician [[Henry Flynt]] and Reed's friend Richard Mishkin<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rx7zCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT19|page=19|title=Notes from the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed|author=Howard Sounes|author-link=Howard Sounes|publisher=Random House|date= October 22, 2015|isbn=978-1-4735-0895-8}}</ref> took turns to cover for him.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rx7zCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT67|page=67|title=Notes from the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed|author=Howard Sounes|author-link=Howard Sounes|publisher=Random House|date= October 22, 2015|isbn=978-1-4735-0895-8}}</ref>

The show included 16&nbsp;mm film projections by Warhol, combined with a stroboscopic-light show designed by Danny Williams. Because of the punishing lights, the band took to wearing sunglasses onstage.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Victor |last1=Bockris |author-link1=Victor Bockris |first2=Gerard |last2=Malanga |author-link2=Gerard Malanga |title=Uptight: The Velvet Underground Story |year=2009 |orig-date=1983 |publisher=Omnibus Press |location=London |isbn=978-0-85712-003-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C-Ne8rSuNRoC&pg=PT70 |quote=It was at this time that The Velvets started wearing dark glasses on stage, not through trying to be cool but because the light-show could be blinding at times. }}</ref> Early promo posters referred to the group as the "erupting plastic inevitable". This soon changed to "the exploding plastic inevitable".

In 1966, MacLise temporarily rejoined the Velvet Underground for a few ''EPI'' shows when Reed was suffering from [[hepatitis]] and unable to perform. For these appearances, Cale sang and played organ, Tucker switched to bass guitar and MacLise was on drums. Also at these appearances, the band often played an extended jam they had dubbed "Booker T", after musician [[Booker T. Jones]]. Some of these performances have been released as a [[Bootleg recording|bootleg]]; they remain the only record of MacLise with the Velvet Underground.

According to Morrison, MacLise is said to have regretted leaving the Velvet Underground and wanted to rejoin, but Reed specifically prohibited this and made it clear that this stint was only temporary. MacLise still behaved eccentrically with time and commerce and went by his own clock: for instance, he showed up half an hour late to one show and carried on with a half-hour of drumming to compensate for his late arrival, long after the set had finished.<ref name="allmusic.com" />

In December 1966, Warhol and [[David Dalton (writer)|David Dalton]] designed Issue 3 of the multimedia [[Aspen (magazine)|''Aspen'']].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ubu.com/aspen/aspen3/index.html |title=Aspen no. 3: The Pop Art issue |website=Ubu.com |access-date=October 29, 2011}}</ref> Included in this issue of the "magazine", which retailed at $4 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|4|1966}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) per copy and was packaged in a hinged box designed to look like Fab laundry detergent, were various leaflets and booklets, one of which was a commentary on rock and roll by Lou Reed, another an ''EPI'' promotional newspaper. Also enclosed was a 2-sided [[flexi disk]]: side one produced by [[Peter Walker (guitarist)|Peter Walker]], a musical associate of [[Timothy Leary]]; and side two titled "Loop", credited to the Velvet Underground but actually recorded by Cale alone. "Loop", a recording solely of pulsating [[audio feedback]] culminating in a [[locked groove]], was "a precursor to [Reed's] ''[[Metal Machine Music]]''", say Velvets archivists M.C. Kostek and Phil Milstein in the book ''The Velvet Underground Companion''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Heylin |first=Clinton |author-link=Clinton Heylin |title=The Velvet Underground Companion: Four Decades of Commentary (The Schirmer Companion Series, No 8): Albin, Iii Zak, Albin Zak: Books |isbn=0-02-864627-4 |year=1997 |publisher=Schirmer Books }}</ref> "Loop" also predates much [[industrial music]].

=== ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' (1967) ===
{{Main|The Velvet Underground & Nico}}
At Warhol's insistence, Nico sang with the band on three songs of their debut album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. The album was recorded primarily in [[Scepter Studios]] in New York City during April 1966, but for reasons unclear, some songs were rerecorded at [[TTG Studios]] in [[Los Angeles]], along with the new song "[[Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground song)|Sunday Morning]]", later in the year with [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]] producing. The album was released by Verve Records the following year in March 1967. The album cover is famous for its Warhol design: a yellow banana sticker with "Peel slowly and see" printed near the tip. Those who did remove the banana skin found a pink, peeled banana beneath.

Eleven songs showcased the Velvets' dynamic range, veering from the pounding attacks of "[[I'm Waiting for the Man]]" and "[[Run Run Run (Lou Reed song)|Run Run Run]]", the droning "Venus in Furs" and "[[Heroin (The Velvet Underground song)|Heroin]]", the chiming and celestial "Sunday Morning", to the quiet "[[Femme Fatale (The Velvet Underground song)|Femme Fatale]]" and the tender "[[I'll Be Your Mirror]]", as well as Warhol's own favorite song of the group, "[[All Tomorrow's Parties]]".<ref name="all" /> [[Kurt Loder]] would later describe "All Tomorrow's Parties" as a "mesmerizing [[gothic-rock]] masterpiece".<ref name="all">[[Kurt Loder]], "Liner notes&nbsp;– ''V.U.'' CD by the Velvet Underground", December 1984, Verve Records&nbsp;– 823 721-2 Europe, "a mesmerizing gothic-rock masterpiece ("All Tomorrow's Parties"&nbsp;– Warhol's favorite Velvets Tune).</ref> Closing out the album was the avant-garde "[[The Black Angel's Death Song]]", followed by the lengthy, feedback-laden "[[European Son]]", which Reed dedicated to his Syracuse professor [[Delmore Schwartz]].

The overall sound was propelled by Reed and Nico's deadpan vocals, Cale's droning viola, bass and keyboards, Reed's experimental avant-garde guitar, Morrison's often [[R&B]]- or [[Country music|country]]-influenced guitar, and Tucker's simple but steady and tribal-sounding beat with sparse use of cymbals. A technique used on many songs was the "drone strum", an eighth-note rhythm guitar style used by Reed.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA296|page=296|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|author1=Nathan Brackett |author1-link=Nathan Brackett |author2=Christian David Hoard |author2-link=Christian Hoard |publisher=Simon & Schuster|date= 2004 |isbn=978-0-7432-0169-8}}</ref> Although Cale was the band's usual bassist, if he switched to viola or keyboards, Morrison would normally play bass. Despite his proficiency on the instrument, Morrison hated playing bass.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hoffman|first1=Eric|title=Examinations: An Examination of John Cale|url=http://www.mentalcontagion.com/mcarchive/examinations/examinations0409.html|website=Mental Contagion|access-date=October 24, 2014|quote=When I had to play viola, Sterling had to play bass, which he hated.|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204052/http://www.mentalcontagion.com/mcarchive/examinations/examinations0409.html}} According to the website, the quote is from John Cale's autobiography, ''What's Welsh for Zen'' NY: St. Martin's Press (2000).</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Tom Pinnock |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/the-velvet-underground/john-cale-on-the-velvet-underground-nico-news |title=John Cale on The Velvet Underground & Nico |publisher=Uncut |date=September 18, 2012 |access-date=March 7, 2015 |archive-date=December 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229052133/https://www.uncut.co.uk/the-velvet-underground/john-cale-on-the-velvet-underground-nico-news  }}</ref> Conversely, some songs had Reed and Morrison playing their usual guitars with Cale on viola or keyboards, but with nobody playing bass.

The album was released on March 12, 1967 (after a lengthy delay by Verve), and reached number 171 on [[Billboard magazine|''Billboard'' magazine's]] Top 200 charts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/419361/velvet-underground/biography|title=The Velvet Underground|website=Billboard.com|access-date=February 2, 2017|archive-date=April 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415092204/http://www.billboard.com/artist/419361/velvet-underground/biography}}</ref> The commercial growth of the album was hampered by a legal claim: as the album's back cover included a photo of the group on stage with an unauthorized image projected behind them of actor [[Eric Emerson]] from a Warhol motion picture, ''[[Chelsea Girls]]'', Emerson made a claim of $500,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|500000|1967}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) for use of his image.<ref name=Sounes>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mgmnCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA96|page=96|title=Notes from the Velvet Underground: The Life and Music of Lou Reed|author=Howard Sounes|author-link=Howard Sounes|publisher=Random House|date= October 22, 2015|isbn=978-0-85752-267-2}}</ref> Instead of compensating Emerson for damages, MGM Records canceled all distribution of the album for nearly two months until the legal problems were settled (by which time the record had lost its modest commercial momentum), and the still was airbrushed out of the remaining copies of the album.<ref name=Sounes /> By the time the record was re-distributed into stores, it faced stiff competition in the marketplace. The album was re-distributed at nearly the same time as ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' in June 1967, which further hindered the release.<ref name=Harvard>{{cite book |title=The Velvet Underground and Nico|author=Joe Harvard |author-link=Joe Harvard |publisher=A&C Black|page=141|date=2004}}</ref> Regarding MGM/Verve's delay in releasing the album, Warhol's business manager [[Paul Morrissey]] once offered the following: "Verve/MGM didn't know what to do with ''The Velvet Underground and Nico'' because it was so peculiar. They did not release it for almost a year. Tom Wilson at Verve/MGM only bought the album from me because of Nico. He saw no talent in Lou [Reed]."<ref name=Harvard /> In 1982, [[Brian Eno]] said that while the album sold only 30,000 copies in its early years, "everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/interviews/musn82.htm |title=Eno: Voyages in Time & Perception |author=Kristine McKenna |work=[[Musician (magazine)|Musician]] |date=October 1982 |access-date=November 8, 2012 |author-link=Kristine McKenna }}</ref> Filmmaker and music writer, Grant McPhee conducted a 2021 investigation into Eno's famous claim into the popularity of the band's first album and concluded that it may have sold as many as 200,000 copies by 1971 alone.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Velvet Underground Myth? – Grant McPhee |url=https://intocreative.co.uk/the-velvet-underground-myth-grant-mcphee/ |access-date=January 3, 2023 |website=Into Creative|date=October 17, 2021 }}</ref> Several of the songs from the album, including "[[Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground song)|Sunday Morning]]", "[[Heroin (The Velvet Underground song)|Heroin]]", "[[All Tomorrow's Parties]]" and "[[I'll Be Your Mirror]]",<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schube |first=Will |date=2024-02-12 |title=Velvet Underground's 'I'll Be Your Mirror' Soundtracks Expedia Super Bowl Ad |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/velvet-undergrounds-ill-be-your-mirror-expedia-super-bowl-ad/ |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=uDiscover Music |language=en-US}}</ref> have been used in various medias in television, film, and commercial advertising.<ref>[https://www.what-song.com/Artist/566/The-Velvet-Underground The Velvet Underground - List of Songs heard in Movies & TV Shows (Whatsong, Tunespotter)]</ref>

=== ''White Light/White Heat'' and Cale's departure (1968) ===
{{Main|White Light/White Heat}}
Nico moved on after the Velvets severed their relationship with Andy Warhol. Reed once commented on their leaving Warhol: "He sat down and had a talk with me. 'You gotta decide what you want to do. Do you want to keep just playing museums from now on and the art festivals? Or do you want to start moving into other areas? Lou, don't you think you should think about it?' So I thought about it, and I fired him. Because I thought that was one of the things to do if we were going to move away from that…"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/03/the-velvet-underground-how-andy-warhol-was-fired-by-his-own-art-project/|title=Words and Guitar: A History of Lou Reed's Music – Bill Brown – Google Books |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref> [[Steve Sesnick]] was soon brought in as a replacement manager, much to the chagrin of Cale, who believes that Sesnick tried to push Reed as band leader at the expense of band harmony. Both Cale and Reed called Sesnick a "snake" in different interviews after leaving the band.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.richieunterberger.com/vuheroes.html |title=vuheroes |website=Richieunterberger.com |date=August 23, 1970 |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref> In September 1967, the Velvet Underground began recording their second album, ''[[White Light/White Heat]]'', with Tom Wilson as producer.

The band performed live often, and their performances became louder and harsher and often included extended [[free improvisation|improvisations]].

Warhol arranged for the band to get an endorsement deal with [[Vox (musical equipment)|Vox]] to enable them to use Vox equipment, including special effects pedals and an organ, for free.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CzWE_J3ZZfoC&pg=PA317|page=317|title=Icons of Rock|author=Scott Schinder |author2=Andy Schwartz |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|date= 2008|isbn=978-0-313-33847-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Peter K. Hogan|publisher=Rough Guides|date= 2007|title=Velvet Underground|page=30}}</ref> Sterling Morrison believed they were the first American band to get a Vox endorsement.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C-Ne8rSuNRoC&pg=PT59se|page=59|title=Uptight: The Velvet Underground Story|author=Victor Bockris|publisher=Omnibus Press|date= October 28, 2009|isbn=978-0-85712-003-8}}</ref>

Sterling Morrison offered the following input regarding the recording:

<blockquote>There was fantastic leakage 'cause everyone was playing so loud and we had so much electronic junk with us in the studio—all these fuzzers and compressors. [[Gary Kellgren]], who is ultra-competent, told us repeatedly: "You can't do it—all the needles are on red." and we reacted as we always reacted: "Look, we don't know what goes on in there and we don't want to hear about it. Just do the best you can." And so the album is fuzzy, there's all that white noise...we wanted to do something electronic and energetic. We had the energy and the electronics, but we didn't know it couldn't be recorded...what we were trying to do was really fry the tracks.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hogan |first=Peter |title=The Complete Guide to the Music of the Velvet Underground |year=1997 |publisher=Omnibus Press |location=London |isbn=0-7119-5596-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GL0eMqztmuIC&pg=PA19 |page=19 }}</ref></blockquote>
Cale has said that while the debut had some moments of fragility and beauty, ''White Light/White Heat'' was "consciously anti-beauty".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VJegBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT51|page=51|title=The Life and Music of Lou Reed|author=Jeremy Reed|publisher=Music Sales Limited|date= October 13, 2014 |isbn=978-1-78323-189-8}}</ref> The title track sets a harsh opening; bassist Cale overdubbing a piano that has been described as "a cross between [[Jerry Lee Lewis]] and [[Henry Cowell]]".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ELeaCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA162|page=162|title= Rock, Counterculture and the Avant-Garde, 1966–1970: How the Beatles, Frank Zappa and the Velvet Underground Defined an Era|author=Doyle Greene|publisher=McFarland|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4766-2403-7}}</ref> Along with brash songs like "[[Sister Ray]]" and "[[I Heard Her Call My Name]]", there was the darkly comic "[[The Gift (The Velvet Underground song)|The Gift]]", a short story written by Reed and narrated by Cale in his [[deadpan]] [[Welsh accent]]. The meditative "Here She Comes Now" was later covered by [[Galaxie 500]], [[Cabaret Voltaire (band)|Cabaret Voltaire]], and [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], among others. The album was released on January 30, 1968, entering the ''Billboard'' Top 200 chart for two weeks, at number 199.

Tensions were growing: the group was tired of receiving little recognition for its work, and Reed and Cale were pulling the Velvet Underground in different directions. The differences showed in the last recording sessions the band had with John Cale in 1968: three [[pop music|pop]]-like songs in Reed's direction ("Temptation Inside Your Heart", "Stephanie Says" and "Beginning to See the Light") and a viola-driven drone in Cale's direction ("Hey Mr. Rain"). Further, some songs the band had performed with Cale in concert, or that he had co-written, were not recorded until after he had left the group (such as "Walk It and Talk It", "Ride into the Sun", and "Countess from Hong Kong").

Reed called Morrison and Tucker to a meeting at the Riviera Cafe in the [[West Village]] without Cale's knowledge, and informed them that Cale was out of the band; when Morrison objected, Reed said it was either Cale was sacked or the Velvets were dissolved.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rx7zCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT84|page=113|title=Notes from the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed|author=Howard Sounes|author-link=Howard Sounes|publisher=Random House|date= October 22, 2015|isbn=978-1-4735-0895-8}}</ref> Neither Morrison nor Tucker was happy with the idea, but faced with a choice of either no Cale or no band at all, the pair reluctantly sided with Reed.<ref name="bio" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Paytress |first=Mark |url=http://www.mojo4music.com/17746/the-velvet-underground-45th-anniversary-super-deluxe-edition/ |title=The Velvet Underground: Reissued 3rd Album Reviewed |newspaper=Mojo |date=November 25, 2014 |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref>

It has often been reported that before Cale's departure (following ''White Light/White Heat'') there was a struggle between his creative impulses and Reed's: Cale's experimentalist tendencies had contrasted with Reed's more conventional approach. According to Tim Mitchell, however, Morrison reported that while there was creative tension between Reed and Cale, its effects have been exaggerated over the years.<ref>Tim Mitchell, ''Sedition and Alchemy : A Biography of John Cale'' (2003; London: Peter Owen Publishers, 2004); {{ISBN|0-7206-1132-6}} (10); {{ISBN|978-0-7206-1132-8}} (13); cf. [http://www.xs4all.nl/~werksman/cale/promo/press_sedition.html Press release], rpt. ''xsall.nl'' (March 2004).</ref> Cale played his last show with the band at the [[Boston Tea Party (concert venue)|Boston Tea Party]] in September 1968 and was fired shortly afterwards.

According to Michael Carlucci, a friend of [[Robert Quine]], "Lou told Quine that the reason why he had to get rid of Cale in the band was Cale's ideas were just too out there. Cale had some wacky ideas. He wanted to record the next album with the amplifiers underwater, and [Lou] just couldn't have it. He was trying to make the band more accessible." Ultimately, Morrison was dispatched by Reed to tell Cale that he was out of the band.<ref name="richieunterberger.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.richieunterberger.com/vumyth.html |title=vumyth |website=Richieunterberger.com |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref>

=== Doug Yule joins and ''The Velvet Underground'' (1969) ===
{{Main|The Velvet Underground (album)}}
Before work on their third album started, Cale was replaced by musician [[Doug Yule]] of the Boston group the Grass Menagerie, who had been a close associate of the band.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Steve |last=Hamelman |title='Music Is My First Language': An Interview with Doug Yule |date=2016 |journal=Rock Music Studies |volume=3 |pages=192–214 |number=2 |doi=10.1080/19401159.2016.1155385 |s2cid=193102552 }}</ref> Yule, a native New Yorker, had moved to Boston to attend [[Boston University]] as a theater major, but left the program after one year to continue playing music.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocknroll.net/loureed/articles/yule.html|title=Head Held High|website=Rocknroll.net}}</ref> Yule had first seen the Velvets perform at a student event at Harvard University in Cambridge in early 1968,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.popmatters.com/feature/yule-doug-021105/|title=Interview with Doug Yule|newspaper=Popmatters}}</ref> and when the band played at the Boston Tea Party later that year, the band stayed at Yule's apartment on River Street, which he happened to be renting from their road manager, Hans Onsager (who worked closely with their manager [[Steve Sesnick]]). It was during this period that Morrison heard Yule playing guitar in his apartment, and mentioned to Reed that Yule was practicing guitar and was improving quickly.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://roomonetwofour.com/interviewsYule.htm |title=Pat Thomas |website=Roomonetwofour.com |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref> It was following this discussion that led to a phone call from Steve Sesnick inviting Yule to meet with the band at [[Max's Kansas City]] in New York City in October 1968 to discuss joining the Velvets before two upcoming shows in Cleveland, Ohio, at the club La Cave.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/live/1968/perf68.html |title=The Velvet Underground – Live performances and rehearsals – 1968 |website=Olivier.landemaine.free.fr |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZwjL8ldp4s|title=The Velvet Underground – Doug Yule Part 1|last=prismfilms1|date=December 23, 2013|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> Upon meeting Reed, Sesnick and Morrison at Max's, Yule was asked to handle bass and organ duties in the band, and he would soon contribute vocals as well. After several months of shows in the US, the band swiftly recorded their third album ''[[The Velvet Underground (album)|The Velvet Underground]]'' in late 1968 at [[TTG Studios]] in [[Hollywood, California]]. It was released in March 1969. The cover photograph was taken by [[Billy Name]]. The LP sleeve was designed by Dick Smith, then a staff artist at MGM/Verve. Released on March 12, 1969, the album failed to make ''Billboard'''s Top 200 album chart.

The harsh, abrasive tendencies on the first two records were almost entirely absent on their third album.<ref name="bio"/> This resulted in a gentler sound influenced by [[folk music]], prescient of the songwriting style that would soon form Reed's solo career. While Reed had covered a vast range of lyrical subjects on the first two Velvet Underground albums, the lyrical themes of the third album were more "intimate" in nature. Reed's songwriting also covered new emotional ground as well, as heard in the songs "[[Pale Blue Eyes]]", "Jesus", "Beginning to See the Light", and "I'm Set Free". The personal tone of the album's subject matter resulted in Reed's desire to create a "closet" mix that boosted the vocals to the forefront, while reducing the album's instrumentation. The second (and more widely distributed) mix is the stereo mix done by MGM/Verve staff recording engineer Val Valentin. Another factor in the change of sound was the band's Vox amplifiers and assorted fuzzboxes were rumored to have been stolen from an airport while they were on tour and they obtained replacements by signing a new endorsement deal with [[Sunn]]. In addition, Reed and Morrison had purchased matching [[Fender Electric XII|Fender 12-string electric guitars]], but Doug Yule plays down the influence of the new equipment.

Morrison's ringing guitar parts and Yule's melodic bass guitar and harmony vocals are used prominently on the album.{{according to whom|date=February 2017}} Reed's songs and singing are subdued and confessional in nature,<ref name="bio"/> and he shared lead vocals with Yule, particularly when his own voice would fail under stress.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gq9Vp45cGx4C&pg=PT70|page=70|title=David Bowie – The Man Who Changed the World|author=Wim Hendrikse|publisher=New Generation Publishing|date= May 1, 2013|isbn=978-0-7552-5053-0}}</ref> Doug Yule sang the lead vocal on "Candy Says" (about the [[Warhol superstar]] [[Candy Darling]]), which opens the LP, and a rare Moe Tucker lead vocal is used on "After Hours", which closes the album, because Reed felt her "innocent" voice was more believable for a sad song.<ref>{{cite book|author=Peter K. Hogan|publisher=Rough Guides|date= 2007|title=Velvet Underground|page=252}}</ref> The album contains the experimental track "The Murder Mystery", which utilized all four band members (Reed, Yule, Tucker and Morrison) reading different lyrics, sometimes simultaneously, as well as the ballad "Pale Blue Eyes".

=== Year on the road and the "lost" fourth album (1969) ===
The Velvet Underground spent much of 1969 on the road both in the US and Canada, and not making much headway commercially. Despite these commercial setbacks, the band focused on performing live shows on the road, playing both re-worked songs from their past albums, and debuting new songs that would find their way onto the ''[[Loaded (The Velvet Underground album)|Loaded]]'' album, such as "[[New Age (The Velvet Underground song)|New Age]]", "[[Rock & Roll (The Velvet Underground song)|Rock and Roll]]", and "[[Sweet Jane]]". While the band continued to do extended improvisations in their live shows, by 1969 they were focusing on tight live performances,{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} and several of the live shows the band played during this period would end up released as live albums many years later. The live album ''[[1969: The Velvet Underground Live]]'' (with Reed, Yule, Morrison and Tucker) was recorded in October 1969 but not released until 1974, on [[Mercury Records]], at the urging of rock critic [[Paul Nelson (critic)|Paul Nelson]], who worked in [[A&R]] for Mercury at the time. Nelson asked singer-songwriter [[Elliott Murphy]] to write liner notes for the double album. In his notes, Murphy described a scene 100 years in the future, with a student taking a class on "classical rock'n'roll" and listening to the Velvet Underground. He wondered what the student would make of the music and concluded, "I wish it was a hundred years from today (I can't stand the suspense)".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21317-the-complete-matrix-tapes/ |title=The Velvet Underground: ''The Complete Matrix Tapes'' |first=Douglas |last=Wolk |date=December 8, 2015 |website=Pitchfork.com |access-date=February 5, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=1969: The Velvet Underground Live |first=Elliott |last=Murphy |author-link=Elliott Murphy |year=1972 |url=http://www.elliottmurphy.com/downloads/vunotes.pdf |format=PDF |access-date=February 5, 2017 |archive-date=April 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402160644/http://www.elliottmurphy.com/downloads/vunotes.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During this period the band played a series of shows in November 1969 at [[The Matrix (club)|the Matrix]] and the Family Dog venues in San Francisco; recordings of these shows were released in 2001, as a triple live album, ''[[Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes]]'', which included the line up of Reed, Yule, Morrison and Tucker. During 1969 the band recorded on and off in the studio, creating a lot of promising material (both singles and one-offs) that were never officially released at the time due to disputes with their record label. What many consider to be the prime songs of these recording sessions were released years later, in 1985, in an album called ''[[VU (album)|VU]]''. The album ''VU'' marks the transitional sound between the whisper-soft third album and the band's movement to the later pop rock song-style of their final record, ''[[Loaded (The Velvet Underground album)|Loaded]]''.<ref name="bio"/> Two of the songs the Velvets recorded during this period were later used on film soundtracks: "[[Stephanie Says]]" was used in the 2001 film ''[[The Royal Tenenbaums]]''; "I'm Sticking With You" has a rare Moe Tucker–Lou Reed dual-lead vocal track, with Doug Yule accompanying on piano, and was included in the film ''[[Juno (film)|Juno]]''.

The rest of the recordings, as well as some alternative takes and instrumental tracks were later bundled on ''[[Another View]]'', an album released in 1986. After Reed's departure, he later reworked a number of these songs for his solo records over the years: "Stephanie Says", "Ocean", "I Can't Stand It", "Lisa Says", and "[[Andy's Chest]]", as well as "She's My Best Friend", which had been originally sung by Doug Yule.

By 1969 the MGM and Verve record labels had been losing money for several years. A new president, [[Mike Curb]], was hired and he decided to cancel the recording contracts of 18 of their acts who supposedly glorified drugs in their lyrics, including their many controversial and unprofitable acts. The drug or [[hippie]]-related bands were released from MGM; nonetheless MGM insisted on retaining ownership of all master tapes of their recordings and according to an MGM representative in a ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' article from 1970, "it wasn't eighteen groups, [Curb] was misquoted. The cuts were made partly to do with the drug scene—like maybe a third of them had to do with drug reasons. The others were dropped because they weren't selling." Lou Reed would later remark in the 1987 issue of ''[[Creem]]'' that while he did not believe that MGM dropped the Velvets for drug associations, he did acknowledge, "We wanted to get out of there."<ref name="richieunterberger.com" />

=== ''Loaded'', Tucker's pregnancy and Max's residency (1970) ===
{{Main|Loaded (The Velvet Underground album)|l1=Loaded}}
[[Cotillion Records]] (a subsidiary of [[Atlantic Records]] that specialized in blues and [[Southern soul]]) signed the Velvet Underground for what would be its final studio album with Lou Reed or Sterling Morrison: ''Loaded''. The album's title refers to Atlantic's request that the band produce an album "loaded with hits". Though the record was not the smash hit the company had anticipated, it contains the most accessible pop-rock the Velvet Underground had performed, and two of Reed's best-known songs, "Sweet Jane" and "Rock and Roll".<ref>{{cite book |last=Hogan |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Hogan |title=The Rough Guide to The Velvet Underground |location=New York |year=2007 |pages=144–145 |publisher=[[Rough Guides]] |isbn=978-1-84353-588-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetovelv0000hoga/page/144/mode/1up |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name=Larkin8>{{cite book |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |year=2007 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |edition=4th |volume=9 |isbn=978-0-19-531373-4|page=640 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpo0009unse/page/640/mode/1up}}</ref>

By the recording of ''Loaded'', Doug Yule played a more prominent role in the band, and with Reed's encouragement, sang the lead vocal on four songs: "Who Loves the Sun", which opened the album, "New Age", "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" and the final track, "Oh! Sweet Nuthin". Yule once commented on the recording of ''Loaded'': "Lou leaned on me a lot in terms of musical support and for harmonies, vocal arrangements. I did a lot on ''Loaded''. It sort of devolved down to the Lou and Doug recreational recording."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/yule.html |title=Doug Yule interview- Perfect Sound Forever |website=Furious.com |date=October 21, 1995 |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref>

While the third Velvets' LP was recorded mostly live in a collaborative atmosphere, the bulk of ''Loaded'' was crafted in the studio. In addition to handling all the bass and piano duties on ''Loaded'', Yule also contributed several lead guitar parts and played drums on five of the album's ten tracks (most notably on the songs "Rock and Roll" and "Sweet Jane")<ref>{{cite web|url=http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/articles/lowdown/lowdown.html |title=The Velvet Underground – The Lowdown on Loaded |website=Olivier.landemaine.free.fr |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref> since Moe Tucker (who was credited as the album's drummer despite not playing on it) was absent on maternity leave to have her first child, a daughter named Kerry. Other drum parts were performed by engineer [[Adrian Barber]], session musician Tommy Castanaro, and [[Billy Yule]] (Doug Yule's younger brother), who was still in high school at the time.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rx7zCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT94|page=94|title=Notes from the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed|author=Howard Sounes|publisher=Random House|date= October 22, 2015|isbn=978-1-4735-0895-8}}</ref> During the sessions, Sterling Morrison resumed his undergraduate studies at the [[City College of New York]]. Although he contributed guitar tracks to the album, he began to split his time between classes, the sessions and the gigs at Max's, thus leaving Reed and Yule to handle the bulk of the arrangements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.richieunterberger.com/vuexc12.html |title=vuexc12 |website=Richieunterberger.com |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref>

During the ''Loaded'' recording sessions, the Velvets (with Billy Yule deputizing on drums) secured a nine-week residency (from June 24 – August 28, 1970) at the New York nightclub [[Max's Kansas City]], playing two lengthy sets per night with altered arrangements of songs from their previous albums and the new material from ''Loaded''.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} Reed's last live performance with the band at Max's was informally recorded and was released in 1972 as ''[[Live at Max's Kansas City]]'', also on Atlantic Records.

=== Reed's departure and release of ''Loaded'' (1970) ===
Disillusioned with the lack of progress the band was making, and facing pressure by manager [[Steve Sesnick]], Reed quit the band during the last week of the Max's Kansas City shows in August 1970. Although Reed had informed Tucker, who was attending the show but not playing with the band because of her pregnancy, that he planned to leave the group on his last evening, he did not tell Morrison or Yule.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} In a 2006 interview, Yule said Sesnick waited until one hour before the band was scheduled to take the stage the following night before notifying him that Reed was not coming. "I was expecting [Lou] to show up, I thought he was late." Yule blamed Sesnick for Reed's departure. "Sesnick had engineered Lou's leaving the group. He and Lou had a relationship where Lou had depended on him for moral support, and he trusted him, and Sesnick basically said 'screw you.' ... It must have been hard for Lou to hear that because he depended on him, so he quit."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aGaLi32M_Y |title=The Velvet Underground – Doug Yule Part 8 |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=December 23, 2013 |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref> While ''Loaded'' was finalized and mixed, it had yet to be mastered and was not set to be released by Atlantic until November of that year. Reed often said he was completely surprised when he saw ''Loaded'' in stores. He also said, "I left them to their album full of hits that I made".{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

Reed said he was perturbed about a verse being edited from the ''Loaded'' version of "[[Sweet Jane]]".<ref>{{cite book|page=278|title=White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground Day-by-Day|author=Richie Unterberger|publisher=Jawbone|date= 2009}}</ref> "[[New Age (Velvet Underground song)|New Age]]" was changed as well: as originally recorded, its closing line ("It's the beginning of a new age" as sung by Yule) was repeated many more times.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} A brief interlude in "Rock and Roll" was also removed. (For the 1995 box set ''Peel Slowly and See'', the album was presented as Reed intended;{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} the "Fully Loaded" two-disc edition includes the full versions of "Sweet Jane" and "New Age".) On the other hand, Yule has said that the album was for all intents and purposes finished when Reed left the band and that Reed had been aware of most, if not all, of the edits.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/yule.html |title=Doug Yule Interview (Part 1) |first=Pat |last=Thomas |date=October 21, 1995 |work=[[Perfect Sound Forever (magazine)|Perfect Sound Forever]] |access-date=March 18, 2017}}</ref>

=== ''Live at Max's'', ''Squeeze'' & Final VU shows (1970–1973) ===
With manager Steve Sesnick looking to fill bookings (following the departure of Lou Reed), and with the pending release of [[Loaded (The Velvet Underground album)|''Loaded'']] in November 1970, the band, now with Sterling Morrison on guitar, Moe Tucker on drums, [[Walter Powers (musician)|Walter Powers]] on bass, and Doug Yule taking over lead vocals and guitar, played periodic shows to promote the album from November 1970 to August 1971, playing shows around the U.S.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/live/1971-73/perf7173.html|title=The Velvet Underground – Live performances and rehearsals – 1971–73|website=olivier.landemaine.free.fr}}</ref> By this juncture, Sterling Morrison had received his degree from the City College of New York. Following a show in [[Houston, Texas]], he left the group in August 1971 to pursue a [[Ph.D.]] in [[medieval literature]] at the [[University of Texas at Austin]]. He had packed an empty suitcase and when the time came for the band to return to [[New York City]], he told them at the airport that he was staying in Texas and quitting the band—the last founding member to quit.<ref name="austin">{{cite news
 | url = http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2000-03-17/76343/
 | title = Velvet Underdog: Sterling Morrison: An Oral History With Interviews
 | newspaper = [[The Austin Chronicle]]
 | access-date = October 24, 2014
| date = March 17, 2000
| first = Margaret
 | last = Moser
}}</ref> Morrison's replacement was singer/keyboard player [[Willie Alexander]]. This brief line-up of the band played several shows in the US and Canada in September 1971, and in October and November 1971 the band did several shows in England, Wales, and the Netherlands to support the 1971 European release of ''Loaded'', some of which are collected on the 2001 box set ''[[Final V.U.]]''<ref name="olivier.landemaine.free.fr">{{cite web|url=http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/live/1971-73/perf7173.html |title=The Velvet Underground – Live performances and rehearsals – 1971–73 |website=Olivier.landemaine.free.fr |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref> After the brief European tour in November 1971 was finished, the lineup of Yule, Tucker, Alexander and Powers disbanded.<ref name="olivier.landemaine.free.fr" />

In May 1972, Atlantic released ''[[Live at Max's Kansas City]]'', the recording of the Velvet Underground's final performance with Reed (also with Doug Yule, Morrison, and Billy Yule) made by a fan, [[Brigid Polk]], on August 23, 1970. Due to publicity around the release, and growing interest in the Velvet Underground in Europe, Sesnick was able to secure a single album deal with Polydor in the UK, and a handful of promotional shows were booked in the UK in November and December 1972. After Sesnick reached out to Yule, a new Velvet Underground lineup was quickly assembled by Yule to do the UK shows. This brief lineup of the Velvet Underground consisted of Yule, guitarist Rob Norris (later of [[The Bongos]]), bassist George Kay (Krzyzewski), and drummer [[Mark Nauseef]]. After Sesnick failed to show up in London to meet the band with the necessary equipment and tour funds,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/yule2.html |title=Doug Yule interview- Perfect Sound Forever |website=Furious.com |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref> they played the handful of dates to secure enough money for flights back to the US, and Yule left the band when the tour ended in December 1972. During this brief period in the UK, Yule recorded the Polydor album ''[[Squeeze (The Velvet Underground album)|Squeeze]]'' under the Velvet Underground name virtually by himself, with only the assistance of [[Deep Purple]] drummer [[Ian Paice]] and a few other session musicians in an unspecified London studio. While Yule intended to recruit Moe Tucker to play drums on ''Squeeze'' and the handful of promotional shows, Sesnick vetoed his decision and claimed she was "too expensive" to hire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/dougyule/dystory.html |title=Doug Yule – Story |website=Olivier.landemaine.free.fr |date=October 26, 2008 |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref> Yule was also prevented by Sesnick from participating in the mixing of the album's tracks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/dougyule/dystory.html|title=Doug Yule – Story|website=Olivier.landemaine.free.fr|access-date=October 17, 2021}}</ref>

''Squeeze'' was released in February the following year, 1973, in Europe only, with minimal promotion by the label, and was held in low regard by fans and critics. [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] notes that the album received "uniformly terrible reviews" upon initial release,<ref>[[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] in the ''Allmusic'' [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r51960|pure_url=yes}} website article on ''Squeeze'']</ref> and in the early 1970s, the ''NME Book of Rock'' counted it as "a Velvet Underground album in name only".<ref>{{cite book|editor=Nick Logan |title=The New musical Express Book of Rock: Nick Logan: 9780352300744: Amazon.com: Books |isbn=0-352-30074-4 |year=1975 |publisher=Star Books }}</ref> When asked about ''Squeeze'', Yule hinted that Sesnick orchestrated the album purely as a money ploy. "Sesnick dumped the second iteration of the band in England with no money and no equipment and just left us there to find our way back. He gave me six copies of ''Squeeze'' as pay. I never got any money. When you sign with [[ASCAP]] or [[Broadcast Music, Inc.|BMI]] you get an advance. He not only made an arrangement with them but actually signed as me and took the money."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/articles/headheldhigh/yule.html|title=Head Held High|website=olivier.landemaine.free.fr}}</ref>

In later years the album was revisited by both critics and musicians with more favorable reviews. In 2011 music writer [[Steven Shehori]] included ''Squeeze'' in his "Criminally Overlooked Albums" series for ''[[The Huffington Post]]'', and in a lengthy review, offered the following assessment: "if you pluck it from the shackles of its murky back-story, ''Squeeze'' is nothing short of a quintessential listening experience."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/steven-shehori/squeeze-velvet-underground_b_880182.html |title=Criminally Overlooked Albums: Squeeze by Doug Yule's Velvet Underground &#124; Steven Shehori |website=Huffingtonpost.ca |date=June 22, 2011 |access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref> The UK band [[Squeeze (band)|Squeeze]] took their name from its title according to band member [[Chris Difford]], who offered the following opinion of the album in a 2012 interview: "It's an odd record, but the name came from that, definitely. ... In a retrospective way I really enjoy it. It has kind of a naivety about it."<ref>{{cite web |last=Woodbury |first=Jason P. |url=http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/uponsun/2012/04/squeeze_2012_crescent.php?page=2 |title=Squeeze's Chris Difford on England, John Cale, and the Paul McCartney-Produced Record That Never Came to Be &#124; Phoenix New Times |website=Blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com |date=April 11, 2012 |access-date=November 8, 2015 |archive-date=January 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119024244/http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/uponsun/2012/04/squeeze_2012_crescent.php?page=2  }}</ref>

Although Yule had put an end to the Velvet Underground in late 1972, a band with him, Billy Yule, George Kay and guitarist Don Silverman (later known as Noor Khan) was billed as the Velvet Underground for two shows in Boston and Long Island. The band members objected to the billing (instigated by their tour manager); according to Yule, the promoter was not supposed to bill the band as the Velvet Underground.<ref name="olivier.landemaine.free.fr" /> In late May 1973, the band and the tour manager parted ways, thus bringing the Velvet Underground to an end until the line-up of Reed, Tucker, Morrison and Cale reunited in the 1990s.

=== Post-VU developments (1972–1990) ===
Reed, Cale and Nico teamed up at the beginning of 1972 to play a concert in Paris at the [[Bataclan club]]. This concert was bootlegged, and finally received an official release as ''[[Le Bataclan '72]]'' in 2003. Before that, Cale and Nico had developed solo careers, with Cale producing a majority of Nico's albums. Reed started his solo career in 1972 after a brief sabbatical. Sterling Morrison was a professor for some time, teaching Medieval Literature at the University of Texas at Austin, then became a [[tugboat]] captain in Houston for several years. Moe Tucker raised a family before returning to small-scale gigging and recording in the 1980s; Morrison was in several touring bands, including Tucker's band.

Yule subsequently toured with Lou Reed and played on the latter's ''[[Sally Can't Dance]]'' album, and Yule (at Reed's request) also contributed guitar and bass tracks to Reed's album ''[[Coney Island Baby]]'', which can be heard in the Bonus Edition of the album (released in 2002). Yule became a member of [[American Flyer (band)|American Flyer]], then dropped out of the music industry altogether before reappearing in the early 2000s.

In 1985, Polydor released the album ''VU'', which collected unreleased recordings that might have constituted the band's fourth album for MGM in 1969 but had never been released. Some of the songs had been recorded when Cale was still in the band. More unreleased recordings of the band, some of them demos and unfinished tracks, were released in 1986 as ''Another View''.

On July 18, 1988, at age 49, Nico died of a cerebral hemorrhage following a bicycle accident in [[Ibiza]], Spain.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Fricke |first=David |author-link=David Fricke |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/nico-1938-1988-78083/ |title=Nico: 1938–1988 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=September 8, 1988 |access-date=September 27, 2023 |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807040305/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/nico-1938-1988-78083/ |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Czech dissident playwright [[Václav Havel]] was a fan of the Velvet Underground, ultimately becoming a friend of Lou Reed. Though some attribute the name of the 1989 "[[Velvet Revolution]]", which ended more than 40 years of [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia|Communist]] rule in Czechoslovakia, to the band, Reed pointed out that the name ''Velvet Revolution'' derives from its peaceful nature—that no one was "actually hurt" during those events.<ref name=Reedinterview>Lou Reed, [http://havel.columbia.edu/media_panels/video_window/?material=reed&timeline=havel7 ''Havel at Columbia'' interview: "7: The Velvet Revolution and The Velvet Underground"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229073839/http://havel.columbia.edu/media_panels/video_window/?material=reed&timeline=havel7 |date=December 29, 2007}}, accessed April 29, 2007. (See table of contents for "Chapters".)</ref> Reed has also given at least one radio interview where he stated that it was called the Velvet Revolution because all of the dissidents were listening to the Velvet Underground leading up to the overthrow, and this music was an inspiration for the events that followed. After Havel's election as president, first of Czechoslovakia and then the Czech Republic, Reed visited him in Prague.<ref name=Reedinterview2>Lou Reed, [http://havel.columbia.edu/media_panels/video_window/?material=reed&timeline=havel4 ''Havel at Columbia'' interview: "4: 1990 visit to Prague and the challenges faced by Havel"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080126084907/http://havel.columbia.edu/media_panels/video_window/?material=reed&timeline=havel4 |date=January 26, 2008}}, accessed April 29, 2007. (See table of contents for "Chapters".)</ref> On September 16, 1998, at Havel's request, Reed performed in the White House at a [[state dinner]] in Havel's honor hosted by President [[Bill Clinton]].<ref>Lou Reed, [http://havel.columbia.edu/media_panels/video_window/?material=reed&timeline=havel8 ''Havel at Columbia'' interview: "8: 1998 White House benefit concert"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080125231442/http://havel.columbia.edu/media_panels/video_window/?material=reed&timeline=havel8 |date=January 25, 2008 }}, accessed April 30, 2007 (See table of contents for "Chapters"); cf. [http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/EOP/First_Lady/html/091598.html "The President and Mrs. Clinton Honor His Excellency V(á)clav Havel, President of the Czech Republic and Mrs. Havlov(á)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927165423/http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/EOP/First_Lady/html/091598.html |date=September 27, 2011 }}, September 16, 1998, accessed April 30, 2007; [https://archive.today/20120711135606/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2889/is_n38_v34/ai_21232237 Transcript of President's Clinton's remarks], ''findarticles.com'' September 16, 1998, accessed April 30, 2007.</ref>

=== Reunions and death of Morrison (1990–1996) ===
[[File:Velvet Underground 1993 promo photo.jpg|thumb|The Velvet Underground reformed in 1993. From left to right: Morrison (at back), Tucker, Cale and Reed.]]
In 1990, Reed and Cale released ''[[Songs for Drella]]'', a song cycle about Andy Warhol, who had died in 1987. Though Morrison and Tucker had each worked with Reed and Cale since the Velvet Underground had broken up, ''Songs for Drella'' was the first time the pair had worked together in decades, and speculation about a reunion began to form, fueled by the one-off appearance by Reed, Cale, Morrison and Tucker to play "Heroin" as the encore to a brief ''Songs for Drella'' set in [[Jouy-en-Josas]], France. Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison also joined John Cale for an encore at his show at New York University on December 5, 1992.

The Reed–Cale–Morrison–Tucker lineup officially reunited without Yule (whose inclusion had been championed by Morrison) in 1992,<ref name="Larkin" /> commencing activities with a European tour beginning in Edinburgh on June 1, 1993, and including a performance at Glastonbury which appeared on an ''[[NME]]'' front cover. Cale sang most of the songs Nico had originally performed. As well as headlining (with [[Luna (1990s American band)|Luna]] as the opening act), the Velvets performed as supporting act for five dates of [[U2]]'s [[Zoo TV Tour]]. With the success of the Velvet Underground's European reunion tour, a series of US tour dates were proposed, as was an ''[[MTV Unplugged]]'' broadcast, and possibly even some new studio recordings. Before any of this could come to fruition, Cale and Reed fell out again, breaking up the band once more.<ref name="Larkin" />

On August 30, 1995, Sterling Morrison died of [[non-Hodgkin lymphoma]] after returning to his hometown of Poughkeepsie, New York, at age 53.<ref name="Larkin" /> When the classic lineup of the band was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1996, Reed, Tucker, and Cale reformed the Velvet Underground for the last time.<ref name="Larkin" /> Doug Yule was not inducted and did not attend. At the ceremony, the band was inducted by [[Patti Smith]], and the trio performed "Last Night I Said Goodbye to My Friend", written in tribute to Morrison.

=== NYPL reunion, death of Reed and Grammys concert (2009–2017) ===
In December 2009, to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the band's formation, Reed, Tucker and Yule (with Cale not present) gave a rare interview at the [[New York Public Library]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/velvet-underground-recall-links-to-warhol-1.844244 |work=CBC News |title=Velvet Underground recall links to Warhol |date=December 10, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212031214/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2009/12/10/velvet-underground.html |archive-date=December 12, 2009}}</ref>

The Velvet Underground continues to exist as a New York–based partnership managing the financial and back catalog aspects for the band members. In January 2012, the surviving members of the band initiated legal action against the [[Andy Warhol#Warhol Foundation|Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts]] over unauthorized use of the debut album's banana design.<ref>{{cite news|author=Jasmine Coleman |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jan/11/velvet-underground-protect-banana-design |title=Velvet Underground moves to protect Banana Album design |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date= January 11, 2012|access-date=February 23, 2012 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Pelly|first=Jenn|title=The Velvet Underground Sue Andy Warhol Foundation Over Banana Image|date=January 11, 2012|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/45071-the-velvet-underground-sue-andy-warhol-foundation-over-banana-image/|publisher=Pitchfork Media Inc.|access-date=January 12, 2012}}</ref> Forty-fifth anniversary box sets of the band's first four studio albums, including significantly expanded bonus material, appeared from 2012 to 2015; the live box set ''[[The Complete Matrix Tapes]]'', comprising remixed and remastered versions of a series of professionally recorded 1969 performances, also appeared in 2015.

On October 27, 2013, Lou Reed died at his home in Southampton, New York, aged 71. He had undergone a liver transplant earlier in the year.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lou-reed-velvet-underground-leader-and-rock-pioneer-dead-at-71-20131027 |title=Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date= October 27, 2013 |access-date=October 27, 2013}}</ref> John Cale responded to Reed's passing by saying, "The world has lost a fine songwriter and poet…I've lost my 'school-yard buddy{{'"}}. His death left Cale the sole surviving original member of the band.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/john-cale-reacts-to-lou-reed-death-2013-10 |title=Here's Velvet Underground Co-Founder John Cale's Reaction To Lou Reed's Passing |last=Wile |first=Rob |date=October 27, 2013 |publisher=[[Business Insider]] |access-date=October 27, 2013 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192647/http://www.businessinsider.com/john-cale-reacts-to-lou-reed-death-2013-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2017, John Cale and Maureen Tucker reunited to perform "[[I'm Waiting for the Man]]" at the Grammy Salute to Music Legends concert.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/the-velvet-undergrounds-john-cale-and-moe-tucker-reunite-watch/|title=The Velvet Underground's John Cale and Moe Tucker Reunite: Watch|website=Pitchfork|date=October 12, 2017}}</ref>

==Musical style and influences==
The music of the Velvet Underground has been described as "boldly uncompromising both sonically and lyrically", and has been delineated as a fusion of [[rock & roll]], [[avant-garde]], and the "poetic realism of post-beat literature". In addition to [[avant-garde jazz]] and rock & roll, Lou Reed was also influenced by [[pop music]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Unterberger |first1=Richie |title=The Velvet Underground Songs, Albums, Reviews |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-velvet-underground-mn0000840402#biography |website=AllMusic |access-date=November 18, 2024}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
The Velvet Underground is regarded as one of the most influential bands in rock history. In 1996 they were inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.futurerocklegends.com/artist.php?artist_id=The_Velvet_Underground |title=The Velvet Underground |publisher=Future Rock Legends |date=January 3, 2007 |access-date=March 13, 2012}}</ref> Critic [[Robert Christgau]] considers them to be "the number three band of the '60s, after [[the Beatles]] and [[The Famous Flames|James Brown and His Famous Flames]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=The+Velvet+Underground|title=Robert Christgau: CG: The Velvet Underground|website=Robertchristgau.com}}</ref> [[AllMusic]] wrote that "Few rock groups can claim to have broken so much new territory, and maintain such consistent brilliance on record, as the Velvet Underground during their brief lifespan [...] the Velvets' innovations – which blended the energy of rock with the sonic adventurism of the avant-garde, and introduced a new degree of social realism and sexual kinkiness into rock lyrics – were too abrasive for the mainstream to handle."<ref name="bio" />

A wide variety of bands have cited Velvet Underground as an influence, including [[Echo & the Bunnymen]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 17, 2013 |title=Q&A: Echo & The Bunnymen's Will Sergeant on new instrumental trio Poltergeist |url=https://slicingupeyeballs.com/2013/06/17/will-sergeant-interview-poltergeist-bunnymen/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250120085621/https://slicingupeyeballs.com/2013/06/17/will-sergeant-interview-poltergeist-bunnymen/ |archive-date=January 20, 2025 |access-date=April 11, 2025 |website=Slicing Up Eyeballs |quote=Everything is influenced by something. [[Echo & the Bunnymen|The Bunnymen]] were influenced by [[Punk rock|punk]], The Velvet Underground, [[David Bowie|Bowie]], [[Roxy Music]] and [[Psychedelic rock|psychedelia]], etc., etc.}}</ref> [[Sonic Youth]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Craig |date=January 4, 1985 |title=SONIC YOUTH: MORE THAN MEETS THE EAR |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-04-ca-6695-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129000825/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-04-ca-6695-story.html |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |access-date=January 25, 2025 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |quote=We're more influenced by [[the Stooges]], [[MC5]] or the Velvet Underground than composers like [[John Cage]] or [[Harry Partch]].}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Volohov |first=Dan |date=November 17, 2021 |title=INTERVIEW: LEE RANALDO ON NEW RELEASE "IN VIRUS TIMES", SONIC YOUTH, SOUND EXPERIMENTS AND VISUAL ART |url=https://joyzine.org/2021/11/17/interview-lee-ranaldo-on-new-release-in-virus-times-sonic-youth-sound-experiments-and-visual-art/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605011707/https://joyzine.org/2021/11/17/interview-lee-ranaldo-on-new-release-in-virus-times-sonic-youth-sound-experiments-and-visual-art/ |archive-date=June 5, 2023 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |website=joyzine.org |quote=Even when Sonic Youth started, we all were inspired by all kinds of things we were listening to. Early influences would have to include The Velvets and [[The Stooges]] and all this quite aggressive music.}}</ref> [[Bauhaus (band)|Bauhaus]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Volohov |first=Danil |date=October 22, 2018 |title=DAVID J - Interview with David J |url=http://www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be/en/interviews/david-j-2018/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124231525/http://www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be/en/interviews/david-j-2018/ |archive-date=January 24, 2025 |access-date=April 2, 2025 |website=peek-a-boo Magazine |quote=Then there were the things like [[The Stooges]], [[MC5]], The Velvet Underground was huge influence.}}</ref> [[the Jesus and Mary Chain]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Interview with Jim Reid of The Jesus and Mary Chain |url=https://onyourmarkus.au/interview/interview-with-jim-reid-of-the-jesus-and-mary-chain/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241209203706/https://onyourmarkus.au/interview/interview-with-jim-reid-of-the-jesus-and-mary-chain/ |archive-date=December 9, 2024 |access-date=December 9, 2024 |website=On Your Marks}}</ref> [[Buzzcocks]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 12, 2010 |title=Never mind the age gap – the Buzzcocks' legacy still inspires |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/never-mind-the-age-gap-the-buzzcocks-legacy-still-inspires-1987624 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250402220556/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/never-mind-the-age-gap-the-buzzcocks-legacy-still-inspires-1987624 |archive-date=April 2, 2025 |access-date=April 2, 2025 |website=[[The Yorkshire Post]] |quote=Bands like the Velvet Underground and [[The Stooges]] were the biggest influence on us, because the music they were doing had a rawer edge to it.}}</ref> and [[Ride (band)|Ride]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wiederhorn |first=John |date=July 8, 2017 |title=Leave Them All Behind: An Oral History of British Shoegazing |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/leave-behind-oral-history-british-shoegazing-193234033.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANGcsyqxiSS8_dEB_8NXVEYLJ0cxdK1y207cKwEbhJsvoAnCZaS7gFI0uNH5R86l6Qjc6oGFDahe1tsKbV-hbGLCt7_ATFtyH6dlnaE7YRJgXTa03t_Vtq7pkuH41WROj0l7SXVoP898DTspENmXgAop9DcjhypCVG5pkJdr4ruP |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241122164157/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/leave-behind-oral-history-british-shoegazing-193234033.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANGcsyqxiSS8_dEB_8NXVEYLJ0cxdK1y207cKwEbhJsvoAnCZaS7gFI0uNH5R86l6Qjc6oGFDahe1tsKbV-hbGLCt7_ATFtyH6dlnaE7YRJgXTa03t_Vtq7pkuH41WROj0l7SXVoP898DTspENmXgAop9DcjhypCVG5pkJdr4ruP |archive-date=November 22, 2024 |access-date=November 16, 2024 |website=[[Yahoo!]] |quote=The set of influences that formed our band have stayed in people's consciousness since the late '80s. The roots of it is [[the Beatles]] and [[The Rolling Stones|the Stones]] and the Velvets and [[the Byrds]], but then in the late '80s there were a lot of really good guitar bands, like [[Spacemen 3]], [[House of Love (band)|House of Love]], a lot of indie music that had really interesting sounds.}}</ref>

The group was ranked the 19th-greatest artist by the same magazine,<ref name="rs100">{{cite magazine|last=Casablancas|first=Julian|author-link=Julian Casablancas|title=100 Greatest Artists: 19 – The Velvet Underground|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231/the-velvet-underground-20110420|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=November 22, 2014}}</ref> and the 24th-greatest artist in a poll by VH1. In 2003, ''Rolling Stone''{{'s}} [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]] list included ''[[The Velvet Underground & Nico]]'' at number 13,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/the-velvet-underground-the-velvet-underground-and-nico-19691231|title=The Velvet Underground & Nico ranked no. 13|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902075953/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/the-velvet-underground-the-velvet-underground-and-nico-19691231 |access-date=27 May 2024|archive-date=September 2, 2011 }}</ref> ''[[Loaded (The Velvet Underground album)|Loaded]]'' at number 109,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/loaded-the-velvet-underground-19691231|title=Loaded ranked no. 109|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902065020/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/loaded-the-velvet-underground-19691231 |access-date=27 May 2024|archive-date=September 2, 2011 }}</ref> ''[[White Light/White Heat]]'' at number 292,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/white-light-white-heat-the-velvet-underground-19691231|title=White Light/White Heat ranked no. 292|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902073046/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/white-light-white-heat-the-velvet-underground-19691231 |access-date=27 May 2024|archive-date=September 2, 2011 }}</ref> and ''[[The Velvet Underground (album)|The Velvet Underground]]'' at number 314.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/the-velvet-underground-the-velvet-underground-19691231|title=The Velvet Underground ranked no. 314|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902065203/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/the-velvet-underground-the-velvet-underground-19691231 |access-date=27 May 2024|archive-date=September 2, 2011 }}</ref> In 2004, on their [[The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|500 Greatest Songs of All Time]] list, ''Rolling Stone'' included "[[I'm Waiting for the Man]]" at number 159,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/2|title=Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2004 101–200|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620035744/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/2 |access-date=27 May 2024|archive-date=June 20, 2008 }}</ref> "[[Sweet Jane]]" at number 335,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/4|title=Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2004 301–400|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621075825/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/4 |access-date=27 May 2024|archive-date=June 21, 2008 }}</ref> and "[[Heroin (The Velvet Underground song)|Heroin]]" at number 448.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/5|title=Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2004 401–500|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622112029/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/5 |access-date=27 May 2024|archive-date=June 22, 2008 }}</ref>

In 2021, a documentary film titled ''[[The Velvet Underground (film)|The Velvet Underground]]'' premiered at the [[2021 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes Film Festival]] and was released on [[Apple TV+]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Blistein |first=Jon |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/velvet-underground-todd-haynes-documentary-trailer-1218663/ |title=The Velvet Underground Chart a Singular Path in Trailer for Todd Haynes' New Documentary |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=August 30, 2021 |access-date=September 27, 2023 |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831233333/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/velvet-underground-todd-haynes-documentary-trailer-1218663/ |archive-date=August 31, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Band members ==
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2023}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
'''Classic line-up'''
* [[Lou Reed]] – vocals, guitars {{small|(1964–1970, 1990, 1992–1993, 1996; died 2013)}}, piano {{small|(1967–1970)}}
* [[John Cale]] – viola, bass guitar, keyboards, vocals {{small|(1964–1968, 1990, 1992–1993, 1996)}}
* [[Sterling Morrison]] – guitars, backing vocals {{small|(1964–1971, 1990, 1992–1993; died 1995)}}, bass guitar {{small|(1965–1970, 1990, 1992–1993)}}
* [[Moe Tucker]] – percussion, drums {{small|(1965–1972, 1990, 1992–1993, 1996)}}, vocals {{small|(1968–1972)}}, bass guitar {{small|(one off 1966)}}
{{col-2}}
'''Former members'''
* [[Angus MacLise]] – percussion {{small|(1964–1965; died 1979)}}, drums {{small|(one off 1966)}}
* [[Doug Yule]] – vocals {{small|(1968–1973)}}, guitar {{small|(1970–1973)}}, bass guitar {{small|(1968–1970, 1972–1973)}}, keyboards {{small|(1968–1971, 1972–1973)}}
* [[Billy Yule]] – drums, percussion {{small|(1970,{{efn|covered for Moe Tucker on maternity leave}} 1973)}}
* [[Walter Powers (musician)|Walter Powers]] – bass guitar, backing vocals {{small|(1970–1972)}}
* [[Willie Alexander]] – keyboards, vocals {{small|(1971–1972)}}{{col-end}}

=== Timeline ===
{{#tag:timeline|
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
PlotArea = left:90 bottom:110 top:5 right:10
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/04/1965 till:17/01/1996
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1966
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1966
 
Colors =
 id:vocals  value:red         legend:Vocals
 id:bvocals value:pink        legend:Backing_vocals
 id:lguitar value:teal        legend:Lead_and_rhythm_guitar
 id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_and_lead_guitar
 id:bass    value:blue        legend:Bass
 id:keys    value:purple      legend:Keyboards
 id:viola   value:drabgreen   legend:Viola
 id:perc    value:claret      legend:Percussion
 id:drums   value:orange      legend:Drums
 id:album   value:black       legend:Studio_album
 id:live    value:gray(0.6)   legend:Live_album
 id:bars    value:gray(0.95)
 
BackgroundColors = bars:bars
 
LineData =
 color:album
 layer:back
 at:12/03/1967
 at:30/01/1968
 at:15/03/1969
 at:15/11/1970
 at:14/02/1973
 color:live
 layer:back
 at:30/05/1972
 at:01/09/1974
 at:26/11/1993
 
BarData =
 bar:Lou      text:Lou Reed
 bar:Sterling text:Sterling Morrison
 bar:John     text:John Cale
 bar:Doug     text:Doug Yule
 bar:Walter   text:Walter Powers
 bar:Willie   text:Willie Alexander
 bar:Angus    text:Angus MacLise
 bar:Moe      text:Moe Tucker
 bar:Billy    text:Billy Yule
 
PlotData =
 width:11
 bar:Lou      from:start      till:24/08/1970 color:vocals
 bar:Lou      from:01/06/1990 till:30/06/1990 color:vocals
 bar:Lou      from:01/11/1992 till:31/07/1993 color:vocals
 bar:Lou      from:01/01/1996 till:17/01/1996 color:vocals
 bar:Sterling from:start      till:30/09/1968 color:rguitar
 bar:Sterling from:30/09/1968 till:21/08/1971 color:lguitar
 bar:Sterling from:01/06/1990 till:30/06/1990 color:lguitar
 bar:Sterling from:01/11/1992 till:31/07/1993 color:lguitar
 bar:John     from:start      till:30/09/1968 color:bass
 bar:John     from:01/06/1990 till:30/06/1990 color:bass
 bar:John     from:01/11/1992 till:31/07/1993 color:bass
 bar:John     from:01/01/1996 till:17/01/1996 color:bass
 bar:Angus    from:start      till:15/11/1965 color:perc
 bar:Angus    from:21/06/1966 till:26/06/1966 color:perc
 bar:Moe      from:16/11/1965 till:31/01/1972 color:perc
 bar:Moe      from:01/06/1990 till:30/06/1990 color:perc
 bar:Moe      from:01/11/1992 till:31/07/1993 color:perc
 bar:Moe      from:01/01/1996 till:17/01/1996 color:perc
 bar:Doug     from:01/10/1968 till:30/09/1970 color:bass
 bar:Doug     from:01/10/1970 till:31/05/1973 color:vocals
 bar:Billy    from:01/01/1970 till:30/08/1970 color:drums
 bar:Walter   from:01/10/1970 till:31/01/1972 color:bass
 bar:Willie   from:01/10/1971 till:31/01/1972 color:keys
 bar:Billy    from:14/02/1973 till:31/05/1973 color:drums
 
 width:7
 bar:Lou      from:01/09/1967 till:24/08/1970 color:keys
 bar:Sterling from:start      till:30/09/1968 color:bass
 bar:Sterling from:01/06/1990 till:30/06/1990 color:bass
 bar:Sterling from:01/11/1992 till:31/07/1993 color:bass
 bar:John     from:start      till:30/09/1968 color:viola
 bar:John     from:01/06/1990 till:30/06/1990 color:viola
 bar:John     from:01/11/1992 till:31/07/1993 color:viola
 bar:John     from:01/01/1996 till:17/01/1996 color:viola
 bar:Moe      from:21/06/1966 till:26/06/1966 color:bass
 bar:Moe      from:01/10/1968 till:31/01/1972 color:drums
 bar:Doug     from:01/10/1968 till:30/09/1970 color:keys
 bar:Doug     from:30/09/1970 till:30/09/1971 color:keys
 bar:Doug     from:01/02/1972 till:31/05/1973 color:keys
 
 width:5
 bar:John     from:start      till:30/09/1968 color:keys
 bar:John     from:01/06/1990 till:30/06/1990 color:keys
 bar:John     from:01/11/1992 till:31/07/1993 color:keys
 bar:John     from:01/01/1996 till:17/01/1996 color:keys
 bar:Doug     from:01/04/1970 till:30/09/1970 color:lguitar
 bar:Doug     from:01/02/1972 till:31/05/1973 color:bass
 
 width:3
 bar:Lou      from:start      till:30/09/1968 color:lguitar
 bar:Lou      from:30/09/1968 till:24/08/1970 color:rguitar
 bar:Lou      from:01/06/1990 till:30/06/1990 color:rguitar
 bar:Lou      from:01/11/1992 till:31/07/1993 color:rguitar
 bar:Lou      from:01/01/1996 till:17/01/1996 color:lguitar
 bar:Sterling from:start      till:21/08/1971 color:bvocals
 bar:Sterling from:01/06/1990 till:30/06/1990 color:bvocals
 bar:Sterling from:01/11/1992 till:31/07/1993 color:bvocals
 bar:John     from:start      till:04/09/1967 color:bvocals
 bar:John     from:04/09/1967 till:30/09/1968 color:vocals
 bar:John     from:01/06/1990 till:30/06/1990 color:vocals
 bar:John     from:01/11/1992 till:31/07/1993 color:vocals
 bar:John     from:01/01/1996 till:17/01/1996 color:vocals
 bar:Moe      from:16/11/1965 till:31/01/1972 color:drums
 bar:Moe      from:01/10/1968 till:31/01/1972 color:vocals
 bar:Moe      from:01/06/1990 till:30/06/1990 color:drums
 bar:Moe      from:01/11/1992 till:31/07/1993 color:drums
 bar:Moe      from:01/01/1996 till:17/01/1996 color:drums
 bar:Doug     from:01/10/1968 till:30/09/1970 color:vocals
 bar:Doug     from:30/09/1970 till:31/05/1973 color:lguitar
 bar:Billy    from:01/01/1970 till:30/08/1970 color:perc
 bar:Walter   from:01/10/1970 till:31/01/1972 color:bvocals
 bar:Willie   from:01/10/1971 till:31/01/1972 color:vocals
 bar:Billy    from:14/02/1973 till:31/05/1973 color:perc
}}

== Discography ==
{{main|The Velvet Underground discography}}
* ''[[The Velvet Underground & Nico]]'' (1967)
* ''[[White Light/White Heat]]'' (1968)
* ''[[The Velvet Underground (album)|The Velvet Underground]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Loaded (The Velvet Underground album)|Loaded]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Squeeze (The Velvet Underground album)|Squeeze]]'' (1973)

== See also ==
* [[Boston Tea Party (concert venue)#The Velvet Underground shows|The Boston Tea Party (concert venue)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{notelist}}

== External links ==
* [http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/index.html The Velvet Underground Web Page]
* [http://www.wnyc.org/story/106702-cale-on-warhol/ "Cale on Warhol"], [http://www.wnyc.org/story/106703-style-it-takes/ Cale performing "Style It Takes"], from John Cale's appearance on ''[[Studio 360]]'', June 2, 2006
* [http://www.ubu.com/aspen/aspen3/audio3.html "Loop"] from Issue 3 of [[Aspen (magazine)|''Aspen'' magazine]], December 1966

{{The Velvet Underground}}
{{1996 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}
{{Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award}}
{{Warhol}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velvet Underground, The}}
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