Lou Reed’s favourite songs from the 1960s
While some might consider him to be the godfather of punk rock, Lou Reed’s origins and influences naturally lie elsewhere within genres that one might argue helped birth punk rock in the first place. Rock and roll and blues music was just as controversial as punk when it first exploded into the mainstream, but after the initial hullabaloo and moral panic that rallied against these modern sounds, the two began to cement their influence on young musicians, and a musical revolution was born.
These genres, as well as the soul records of the time, would have been exciting to a young Reed, and the rawness which can be felt on these recordings was undoubtedly something that he audibly tried to emulate in his work with The Velvet Underground when they formed in 1964. There was an urgency to the songs on their debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, that matched what the likes of Link Wray’s ‘Rumble’ and Little Richard’s ‘Good Golly Miss Molly’ managed in the decade prior.
It’s no surprise that the music that Reed looks back on most fondly from the 1950s and ‘60s sits within the realm of rock and roll, soul and jazz as opposed to pop due to the fact that they all spawned from counter-cultural movements similar to the one he was involved in himself. These all represented exciting and innovative shifts in the musical landscape at the time, and while things may be perceived differently by modern standards, anyone who lived through these cultural changes can attest that they helped shape a wealth of music for decades afterwards.
When asked to share some of his favourite music of all time with Helsinki Music Club in 2013, a large portion of his selections came from the ‘50s and ‘60s and featured a number of both high-profile figures alongside some forgotten gems. Zooming in on his ‘60s picks in particular, there is a wealth of treasures to be discovered alongside a host of undeniable classics.
Artists such as Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and Otis Redding are among some of the artists that Reed chose to acknowledge twice in his selections from the ‘60s, highlighting how his tastes were not exclusive to one lane. Among some of the other big hitters in his playlist are the Beach Boys, James Brown and Aretha Franklin, but his veritable knowledge doesn’t end with the famous figures.
Some of the other less-talked-about ‘60s choice cuts in his all-time playlist come courtesy of Billy Lee Riley’s explosive rhythm and blues number ‘Red Hot’, Johnnie Taylor’s vibrant soul on ‘Who’s Making Love’ and the swinging ‘Valerie’ by Jackie & the Starlites.
Reed’s picks of the decade provide a fascinating insight into the music that made him as a young artist in New York, and explain a lot about his personal motivations to pursue the music that he would go on to innovate with in his own projects.
Lou Reed’s 46 favourite songs from the 1960s:
- Eddie And Ernie – ‘Outcast’
- The Excellents – ‘Coney Island Baby’
- Lorraine Ellison – ‘Stay With Me’
- Billy Lee Riley – ‘Red Hot’
- Wanda Jackson – ‘Let’s Have A Party’
- Roy Orbison – ‘Crying’
- Roy Orbison – ‘Ooby Dooby’
- Otis Redding – ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long’
- Jimi Hendrix – ‘Are You Experienced?’
- Ike and Tina Turner – ‘It’s Gonna Work Out Fine’
- Ike and Tina Turner – ‘River Deep, Mountain High’
- Sam Cooke – ‘Mean Old World’
- Otis Redding – ‘Try A Little Tenderness’
- Question Mark & The Mysterians – ’96 Tears’
- Cannibal and the Headhunters – ‘Land of a Thousand Dances’
- Jimmy Reed – ‘Big Boss Man’
- Jimmy Reed – ‘Hush Hush’
- Albert King – ‘Born Under a Bad Sign’
- Booker T. & the MGs – ‘Green Onions’
- Wilson Pickett – ‘Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won’t Do)’
- Sam & Dave – ‘Soul Man’
- The Youngbloods – ‘Sunlight’
- The Left Banke – ‘Walk Away Renee’
- The Left Banke – ‘Pretty Ballerina’
- Jackie and the Starlites – ‘Valerie’
- The Easybeats – ‘Falling Off the Edge of the World’
- B. B. King – ‘Rock Me Baby’
- Ricky Nelson – ‘Hello Mary Lou’
- James Brown – ‘There Was A Time’
- The Beach Boys – ‘God Only Knows’
- Bob Dylan – ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’
- Bob Dylan – ‘It’s Alright Ma’
- Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland – ‘Turn On Your Love Light’
- Solomon Burke – ‘Keep A Light In the Window’
- James Brown – ‘Think’
- Sly & The Family Stone – ‘Everyday People’
- Etta James – ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’
- Carla Thomas – ‘Gee Whiz’
- Clarence Carter – ‘Making Love (At the Dark End of the Street)’
- Aretha Franklin – ‘I Never Loved A Man’
- Johnnie Taylor – ‘Who’s Making Love’
- James & Bobby Purify – ‘I’m Your Puppet’
- Aaron Neville – ‘Tell It Like It Is’
- Lee Dorsey – ‘Get Out My Life Woman’
- James & Bobby Purify – ‘Shake A Tail Feather’
- The Chiffons – ‘He’s So Fine’
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