"WALK ON THE WILD SIDE" ● Lou Reed
LOU REED / Publicity Photo - Reprise Records 2000 / Photo Credit: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders / IVOX MEDIA collection
"WALK ON THE WILD SIDE" ● Lou Reed
The Song● Walk On The Wild Side
Writer● Lou Reed
Producers● David Bowie and Mick Ronson
Recorded● 1972
Released● 1972
Players●
:: Lou Reed -- vocals, guitar
:: Mick Ronson -- guitar
:: Ronnie Ross -- saxophone
:: Herbie Flowers -- bass
:: John Halzey -- drums
:: The Thunder Thighs -- background vocals
Album● Transformer (RCA, 1972)
Also On●
:: Lou Reed Live (RCA, 1975)
:: Walk On The Wild Side: The Best Of Lou Reed (RCA, 1977)
:: Rock And Roll Diary 1967-1980 (Arista, 1980)
:: Between Thought And Expression (RCA, 1992; boxed set)
:: Walk On The Wild Side And Other Hits (RCA, 1992)
:: Different Times: Lou Reed In The '70s (RCA, 1996)
:: The Definitive Collection (Arista, 1999)
:: NYC Man: The Ultimate Lou Reed Collection (RCA, 2003)
:: The Platinum & Gold Collection (RCA, 2004)
Transformer ● Lou Reed
Transformer is Lou Reed’s second solo studio album. Produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, and released in November 1972 by RCA Records, it is considered an influential landmark of the glam rock genre, anchored by Reed's most successful single, "Walk on the Wild Side", which touched on the controversial topics of sexual orientation, gender identity, prostitution and drug use.
Throughout his long and unpredictable career, Lou Reed has had only one top 20 hit, "Walk On The Wild Side." Peaking at Number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S., it remains his most successful and enduring single to date.
The song's lyrics, which salute the '60s underground culture of Andy Warhol, stirred up quite a bit controversy in the U.S. However, not a ripple was made at the BBC, apparently because programmers there didn't understand phrases like "giving head."
Reed had retreated to England after his involvement with the Velvet Underground in the late '60s. He didn't embark on his solo career for almost two years after the group disbanded.
Transformer, his second album, was Reed's breakthrough to mainstream success. Marrying his dark themes and minimalist songs to accessible pop structures, it brought him the commercial visibility he had struggled to find with the Velvet Underground.
Much of the record's pop sheen belongs to Reed disciple David Bowie's production.
A longtime Velvet Underground fan, Bowie played a part in developing Reed's image during this time as well. The former avant-garde leader became a bleached-blonde, black fingernail-polished hedonist who, indeed, flaunted walking on the wild side. Bowie picked up on all of those qualities, and used them to greater commercial success in his own career in the '70s.
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