Frank Zappa: The guitarist who became Lou Reed’s everlasting regret
Lou Reed did not always live a harmonious life; in fact, it was often his various personal struggles and growth which made him such a talented songwriter. It is easy to imagine the hugely influential musician looking back upon his life with a few regrets, from his years spent as a heroin addict to the creation of Lulu alongside Metallica. Nevertheless, without those regrets and missteps, Reed simply would not have been the same person. Regret is a tricky emotion to tackle, but that certainly did not stop Reed from trying.
Although Reed had his fair share of regrets throughout the years, the vast majority were centred around things that he didn’t do rather than things he did. Given his often elitist, arrogant persona as the king of alternative music – coupled with his volatile mood and long-lasting dependence on drugs – the Velvet Underground founder was not the easiest person to be around. As such, many relationships and collaborations fell apart, and Reed had a habit of picking fights with people who were undeserving.
One such figure was Frank Zappa. Initially, you might assume that Zappa’s unique blend of jazz, rock, and avant-garde experimentation appealed to Reed, whose early career with the Underground was often defined by its trailblazing experimentation.
However, that assumption fails to take into account the hugely inflated egos of successful musicians. Back in the 1960s, when both Zappa and The Velvet Underground were signed to MGM Records, the two camps engaged in something of a rivalry.
The strange feud seemed to be pinned on the idea that MGM was giving Zappa more promotion than The Velvet Underground. Eventually, this led the ever-hyperbolic Reed to claim, “Frank Zappa is the most untalented musician I’ve ever heard.”
Later, adding, “He can’t play rock ‘n’ roll because he’s a loser.”
With his bandmate Sterling Morrison quickly adding, “If you told Frank Zappa to eat shit in public, he’d do it if it sold records. I would do it if I liked to.”
To fans of the two artists, this feud did not make much of an impact. After all, the music of Frank Zappa is entirely different to the music of The Velvet Underground, although each went on to become incredibly influential in their own unique way. In the years and decades that followed their time together on MGM, Reed’s attitude towards the legendary guitarist thawed somewhat, with the former VU leader expressing regret over his relationship with Zappa.
So, when Zappa was to be posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1955, it was Reed who was tasked with inducting him. During his impassioned speech about the avant-garde pioneer, the songwriter highlighted the importance of “People who, through the articulation of their talents and intelligence, were able to leave things better than they found them.”
Reed added, “People who were not in it for the money, to paraphrase Frank Zappa.”
Reed went on to say, “Frank Zappa was such a person and of the many regrets I have in life, not knowing him a lot better is one of them.” How much interaction the pair had following their feud back in the 1960s is unknown, but it sounds as though Reed was pretty heartbroken by the fact that the pair weren’t able to forge a friendship before Zappa passed away in 1993.
