Lou Reed, a founding member of the Velvet Underground and a fiercely independent artist throughout his career, was born on this day in 1942. Reed defied expectations and pushed boundries at every turn in a life that fused music, art, cinema and live performances. He followed his Velvet Underground stint with a series of solo projects with material that drew on real and created characters that, like Reed, lived on the fringe and preferred the shadows to the spotlight. He deplored the double standard that some applied to his song subject matter, telling journalist Kristine McKenna, 'The things I've written about wouldn't be considered a big deal if they appeared in a book or movie.'
Reed underwent a liver transplant in 2013, but later in the year developed complications that doctors were unable to overcome and Reed elected to suspend treatment and return to his long Island home, where he died on October 10th of that year.
Other Noteworthy Classic Rock events on March 2 include...
1948 Rory Gallagher is born.
1956 Mark Evans of AC/DC is born.
1962 Jon Bon Jovi is born.
1964 Beatles start filming A Hard Day’s Night.
1964 George Harrison and Pattie Boyd meet.
1966 Martin Sexton is born.
1968 Pink Floyd announce that Syd Barrett will no longer record or tour with the band.
1968 Blue Cheer releases Summertime Blues.
1974 Doobie Brothers release Captain & Me.
1975 Linda McCartney is charged with marijuana posession after a traffic stop in LA.
1983 Sony, Phillips and Polygram introduce Compact Discs.
1999 Neil Young starts his first solo tour in 20 years.
1999 Bob Dylan and Bono perform at opening of the House of Blues in Las Vegas.
2004 Metallica starts North American tour in Phoenix.
2008 Jeff Healey dies of cancer at 41.
2009 U2 opens a full week as musical guests on David Letterman Show.
2013 Paul McCartney's teenage pencil drawing sheet of faces sells for $5,000.
2016 Bob Dylan sells a 6,000 piece archive of notes, lyrics, artwork, photos, film footage and master recordings to the University of Tulsa.
