Today (March 2) we remember Lou Reed on his birthday. The rocker would have been 75.

Lou Reed was a singer, guitarist, and main songwriter of the Velvet Underground and he had a career that spanned decades. The Velvet Underground was a commercial failure in the 1960’s, but the group gained cult status in the years since it’s demise and has gone on to become one of the most influential bands of the era. Reed’s solo album Transformer was a critically acclaimed release that featured the hit single ‘Walk on the Wild Side’. The album ranked on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Lou Reed died on Oct. 27, 2013 at the age of 71 due complications from a liver transplant. A report in June of 2014 said that according to Lou Reed’s longtime manager Robert Gotterer, Reed’s estate had earned $20 million since his passing. Metallica recorded an album with Lou Reed in 2011 called Lulu that received mostly negative reviews from critics. Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich talked about the experience following Reed's passing. Check out the article from Ultimate Classic Rock here.

Check out Lou Reed performing the Velvet Underground classic ‘Sweet Jane’ live below.

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