The sound of the underground: Lou Reed’s favourite songs from the 1950s
It’s fun to think of what Lou Reed as a wee nipper would have been like. Forever recognised as a figure of coolness from the moment he emerged in the 1960s as a member of the pioneering art-rock group The Velvet Underground and equally as celebrated for his solo efforts from the ‘70s onwards, it’s pretty hard to imagine him existing in a time where he wasn’t so cool. I’d even go as far as to bet on the fact that he was born wearing leather and shades; that’s how effortlessly cool Reed was.
Born in 1942 in New York City, Reed was interested in music from a young age and taught himself how to play the guitar by listening to the radio at home. As a teenager in the 1950s, he also became involved in various groups while still at school, performing rock and roll and doo-wop numbers. While the latter seems a far cry from where he led his band in the following decade, there are plenty of rock and roll influences to be found in the proto-punk sound that the Velvets were known for.
However, if we’re to take a deeper look at the music from the 1950s that was influential to Reed’s life and career, large amounts of the music that he fell in love with from a young age were vocal groups, jazz musicians and soul singers, with the odd smattering of rock and roll thrown in for good measure. It would appear that even at such a young age, Reed was already filling his ears with a wide variety of listening material and attempting to broaden his horizons.
In an interview with Helsinki Music Club in 2013, Reed shared a list of his 100 favourite songs of all time, and 30 of these selections came from his earliest inspirations in the 1950s, covering a wide spectrum of tastes. While some of his picks are from the most notable names of the decade, he also stayed true to form and picked out a handful of obscure selections that represented his early years.
Featured on the list three times is Little Richard, whose earth-moving rock and roll during the decade switched many young people onto popular music. Similarly, Elvis Presley gets two nods from Reed in his list. As two of the greatest entertainers and showmen to have ever graced a stage, it’s hardly surprising to see them acknowledged as having made a significant impression early in Reed’s life, and the mentions of others such as Bo Diddley and Carl Perkins are also understandable when placed in context.
However, Reed’s love of jazz also shines through, and the inclusion of Fats Domino, Chet Baker and Jimmy Scott are all signifiers of his love for the standards. More surprising still is his inclusion of the avant-garde saxophone work of Ornette Coleman, and while it could mean that he only later discovered his work, it would be remarkable if Reed was already gravitating towards the more out-there music of the world at the age of 17 when he would have been in the formative years of his musical career.
There’s plenty more to be found in this treasure trove of picks from Reed, and below we’ve collated all 30 of his personal favourites from the list he provided shortly before his death.
Lou Reed’s 30 favourite songs of the 1950s
- Ornette Coleman – ‘Lonely Woman’
- Ray Charles – ‘Night Time Is The Right Time’
- Little Richard – ‘The Girl Can’t Help It’
- Little Richard – ‘Lucille’
- Little Richard – ‘Tutti Frutti’
- Elvis Presley – ‘Mystery Train’
- Elvis Presley – ‘That’s Alright Mama’
- Carl Perkins – ‘Honey Don’t’
- Chuck Berry – ‘Little Queenie’
- Billy Lee Riley – ‘Red Hot’
- Wanda Jackson – ‘Let’s Have A Party’
- Fats Domino – ‘The Fat Man’
- Fats Domino – ‘Ain’t That A Shame’
- Dion & The Belmonts – ‘I Wonder Why’
- The Excellents – ‘Coney Island Baby’
- Nolan Strong & The Diablos – ‘The Wind’
- Bo Diddley – ‘Bring It To Jerome’
- Bo Diddley – ‘Bo Diddley’
- Ricky Nelson – ‘My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It’
- Ricky Nelson – ‘Hello Mary Lou’
- The Cadillacs – ‘Gloria’
- The Students – ‘So Young’
- Lillian Leach and the Mellows – ‘Smoke From Your Cigarette’
- Chris Connor – ‘When Sunny Gets Blue’
- Chet Baker – ‘My Funny Valentine’
- Jimmy Scott – ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’
- Hank Ballard & the Midnighters – ‘Work With Me Annie’
- Hank Ballard & the Midnighters – ‘Annie Had A Baby’
- Jerry Lee Lewis – ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’
- Clarence Frogman Henry – ‘Ain’t Got No Home’
