The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. They became known for their integration of rock and roll and the avant-garde, which earned them little commercial success during their initial nine-year run but made them one of the most influential bands of their era, particularly in underground, experimental, and alternative music scenes. Their provocative subject matter and experimentation were instrumental in the development of punk rock, new wave and other genres.The group performed under several names before settling on the Velvet Underground in 1965, taken from the title of a 1963 book on atypical sexual behavior. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionist Moe Tucker. In 1966, 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, Exploding Plastic Inevitable, from 1966 to 1967. Their debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967), featuring the German singer and model Nico, was released to critical indifference and poor sales, although it has since been hailed as one of the greatest albums in music history.In 1968, the band released their second album, the noise-saturated White Light/White Heat, after which Cale was replaced with Doug Yule. Aiming for mainstream success, the two following albums, The Velvet Underground (1969) and Loaded (1970), sold below the expectations of record labels and de facto group leader Reed. In the early 1970s, all but Yule left the band and a final album was released under the Velvet Underground name in 1973, Squeeze, recorded mostly by Yule with Ian Paice of Deep Purple and other session musicians in London. The Velvet Underground dissolved shortly after.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.