Rapper FIRST time REACTIOn to Lou Reed - Walk on the Wild Side! What is GOING ON...

[@martinl8574]

This song is a reflection of life and culture you have no context of in 2024. Life and culture has totally changed over in the 60 plus years of my life. Lou had his ear to the street. His music reflects a moment in time incomprehensible to younger generations!

[@LibraAllWoman]

Say it! 👍

[@edwardmunoz7853]

Say it louder for the people in the back Well said my friend 👊

[@DaveB-hg7el]

As a 65 year old man, I agree with your comment. But I will point out that we don't have much context for our grandchildrens generation either. It's the way the world works. Lol 😊, peace 💚

[@mrschicken315]

This era was def not cancel culture. It was fabulous, groovy, open, culture. Cancel culture of 2024 sucks hugely.

[@BadgerBJJ]

There’s still context… transgender. Prostitution. Addiction. Homelessness. You just got old and no longer get it.

[@stuff3829]

Candy is Candy Darling and Holly is Holly Woodlawn both drag queens and Joe is Joe Delasandro a escort/hustle, Sugar Plum Ferry was a drug dealer. These were all real people that hung out with the musicians in NYC 14:32

[@tjauction1]

Wow! That’s great to know.

[@sandikorevaar4743]

Sugar Plum Fairy

[@tuckerkatze8309]

😲

[@maxwelladownes81]

Candy Darling was never a drag queen, she was a trans woman.

[@mlandry491]

thanks for typing that out so i didnt have to♡

[@_Lisa_S_]

It was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson He was touching on topics considered taboo at the time, such as transgender people, drugs, male prostitution, and oral sex.

[@ConspiracySmurf]

David Bowie is another one that pushed the limits and made people wonder with the eyeliner, lipstick and glitter. We need to do Major Tom if we haven't....

[@Waiting_To_Retire]

You beat me to that. Agreed.

[@nubbypk]

A lot of people think that it's also David Bowie playing the fadeout sax solo, but it was actually Ronnie Ross (who taught Bowie how to play sax)

[@LibraAllWoman]

B.P., completely, missed the reference to male prostitution.

[@redzwestisbest]

hopefully BP sees this comment.

[@mapegatkinson92]

I am 74 yr old woman from NJ. We went into NYC all the time. I was 18-22 yrs old. This was the time of Andy Warhol, transvestites galor, beatnicks, John Lennon lived there with Yoko and hung out with Warhol's gang. Bowie played some music with Lou Reed. My friends and I were straight but we were aware of all different kinds of people and accepted them. Still waiting for the rest of the world to catch up.

[@paulineh4019]

Even John Denver had photos taken with and by Andy Warhol and hung out with him skiing at Harrahs. People back then were more 'live and let live' .

[@MyboogerwontSurrender]

Well said 😊

[@Cchan53]

Youre right

[@dakklan]

Lou Reed is writing about people he knows, real people, people associated w/Andy Warhol. Go see the video. They are all in the video.

[@mrschicken315]

Lou Reed is talking about NYC, people moving to NYC, nothing racist, just groovy and people. It’s worthy of your playlist.

[@Crimethoughtfull]

"nothing racist"...THAT is the thing! How is it we were more accepting in the 1970s than we are today?? If some person made this song TODAY, brand new, Fox news would have a meltdown.

[@marybreiner5]

Back when this song came out, saying colored was politically correct. But truly, our generation didn't care about your race, your gender or your sexuality. We did care about our music. We had a lot to say. We used music to speak what was in our hearts. Also, everyone he sings about in this song was a real person.

[@susanrombak7959]

Yea, the feigning offense of the word colored when Rap uses the N word all day long is tiring.

[@FinallyTuned]

NAACP… the c is for colored. …People of color… colored people… norms change… and language is sometime used as a lever.

[@donaldobrien9171]

Colored was considered old fashioned. Black was the preferred term.

[@huffwayno]

NAACP What does the C stand for??

[@carlbeaver7112]

'Colored' wasn't exactly PC because 'PC' wasn't a thing yet. But Archie Bunker wouldn't have been cringey humorous if it was considered as 'OK'. And this WAS released in the middle of Archie's run.

[@JonS0107]

You're spot on. This song is less about music and more about documenting actual people who congregated in the streets of New York.

[@loreleimorphee5162]

I was born in the 60's, trust me , 70's and 80's, were the best years of my life, we didn't care about the gender and the colors of your skin, we could say or do whatever we want without being judged, we had the best musicians and singers of all time.

[@jeanniemetiva6745]

Exactly 💯 I'm surprised the Woke hasn't tried to cancel this song 🤷

[@jimglenn6972]

The line about the Colored Girls is a shot at the racist people at the time. He is referring to the background singers in Motown. It’s like the movie, Blazing Saddles, where the N word is used all the time to poke fun at people who used it unironically.

[@AttackChefDennis]

​@jeanniemetiva6745 you seriously don't understand what 'woke' means do you?

[@jeanniemetiva6745]

@AttackChefDennis sure do know...maybe you don't 🤷

[@sukie584]

I love this rewriting of history. People absolutely cared which is why marginalized people all went to NYC or San Francisco. Wasn’t perfect but they found community.

[@lindaharris1892]

When I saw you were reacting to this, I had to watch, just to see your expressions ... priceless. I believe there is a video that shows who everyone is, that Lou is singing about in the song.

[@barbaradawdy6317]

There is!

[@threekidzmom04]

@@barbaradawdy6317 thanks

[@threekidzmom04]

I couldn't wait to see his facial reactions

[@wayneclark9435]

I bought this album in 1972 when I was 14, loved it then love it now. BP you sure seem to have lived a sheltered life!! You are often shocked by what we grooved to! 😂😂😂

[@sidrat2009]

Religion can do a lot of good while at the same time, stifling the more human parts of living.

[@loadabollocks]

I deal with much younger people a lot, and it stuns me sometimes. Most seem to think older people were born yesterday - been nowhere, done nothing. 🙄

[@egregious3666]

I was 15, living in Butler County PA (it's a GOP conservative haven), I understood what was happening. Yes, I knew NYC was a wild place. Blow jobs in bathrooms, sex parties, speeding with Andy Warhol. I read a lot and loved the music of the time.

[@1967PONTIACGTO]

Lou Reed was one of the founders of the Velvet Underground, which is one of the most influential rock groups in history even though they hardly sold any albums. It is no exaggeration to say that the VU are the source band for Punk, Goth, New Wave, and almost all "alternative music"... for Velvet Underground songs try "I'm Waiting for the Man", "I'll Be Your Mirror", "Femme Fatale", "Heroin", "White Light White Heat"... an amazing thing about the song Walk on the Wild Side is that it was a monster AM radio hit even with the full lyrics.... there was a brief period in the late 60's and early 70's when the mass culture was considered intelligent enough to listen to adult lyrics... for a later Lou Reed solo song that will also remind you of your friend's father try his song called "Dirty Boulevard" from his album "New York", and a good live version of Dirty Boulevard on youtube is the one on the Night Music with David Sanborn TV show in 1989... but I would start with the recorded version

[@ginao8935]

Your face during this song was priceless 😅This song was played all the time on the radio when I was a kid. Good times! Lol

[@cathywethington5913]

The fact that this and the Kink's Lola got played on the radio back then made me wonder just how innocent and clueless the censors were😂

[@threekidzmom04]

@@cathywethington5913 haha

[@threekidzmom04]

I agree!!

[@theknave69]

The song is about Holly Woodland, Candy Darling, Joe D'Allesandro, Jackie Curtis, and Joe Campbell (The Sugar Plum Fairy) and were all associated with Warhol's "Factory". The "colored girls" was acceptable back then, similar to "black is beautiful" from the 1960s. Language changes

[@55judylw]

If I were 21 and naive again, the lyrics to this song would shock me. I'm 69 now, seen a bit of life. Nothing shocks me now. The looks on your face throughout this song gave me some good laughs. 😂

[@casperkittae2651]

You’re right he has a lousy voice. Not a good song.

[@valkyrie1066]

65 and I still love it. I know all the songs by heart. As my daughter grew, she told me I never gave her anything to...protest about...she got unfiltered truth from the womb. She pointed out along the way some songs that I maybe didn't REALLY pay attention to, or at any rate, had no intention of BANNING from my child's exploration of music. There were...questions, yes. LOL (and her godfather is a draq queen)

[@andrewstolpman6743]

Lou Reed is on a whole other level of musical genius.

[@foxandscout]

Saw him many times over the decades. Love him so much! and miss him.

[@michaelbailey6365]

The reference to his backing singers was deliberate. At the time black backup singers were treated like shit so it’s his way of bringing them to the fore.

[@gizmo5925]

...except the actual backup singers were white.

[@christineschmidt8501]

@@gizmo5925 LOL, was just going to say, that actually was the joke here.

[@collinpillow4066]

The trio, The Thunderthighs, originated in the U.K. and did background vocals for Mott the Hoople before doing this song. Such a wild era in music.

[@trashandcheese3636]

Of course in the late '70s (the I Wanna Be Black era) he had an all-black backing vocal section - and he antagonized them by throwing "n-words" around in conversation, defending himself with a lot of "I'm Jewish, so don't play the victim olympics with me"-rhetoric.

[@DaveB-hg7el]

​@@collinpillow4066Love the Mott the Hoople reference. One of my favorite bands from the day. Peace 💚

[@BigDaddyG65]

Lou Reed is one of the most influential artists of his time. If you dig into most any significant artist of the 70's and 80's Lou was a major influence. The song captures the club sceen of the Village in New York of the late sixties and early seventies. With its iconic bass line and the signature sax solo this is a true classic. The talking style in the song could almost be early rap. I can say if you give this a few more listens, it will make your play list.

[@mikedintn]

When I saw the title, oh yeah, gotta see his reaction to this song . 😂

[@simply_psi]

A classic and it never got banned, produced by David Bowie, what an album Transformer is. This was one of my Mom's favourite songs she was pretty progressive she died in 2021 aged 87. Other bangers from the album, Vicious, Perfect Day and Satellite of Love. Lou was a member of The Velvet Underground. Lou was more sucrssful with album sales rather than singles

[@Tr1k1e]

I'm a 55 year old white guy from the UK. Growing up as a kid I was taught that referring to a black person as coloured was the polite way as not to offend. Times change and so does language and now it's insulting to use that term so I have to think sometimes before I speak so not to upset anyone unintentionally. This has led to a lot of songs T.V shows being called to be cancelled over recent years because the are no longer PC. This song being one of them.

[@marikka9347]

Perhaps we should just respond to people that feel injured by words that often had different meanings and/or wish to rewrite (ignore) history to attack those that lived during that time this... Please stop attributing your modern day (current time) sensibilities to a time and people that had their own. The ridiculousness of words hurting is difficult enough to watch, but pandering to them has to stop. Words only hurt if you let them. If someone called me a (w)itch as in female dog my response would be one of these depending on my mood. Woof Okay And???? I sincerely hope there is more to your argument than name calling.

[@STandM3]

It’s funny how it’s insulting yet the correct terminology are the same words yet in reverse….

[@astonsfan]

I agree and I don't get that saying "coloured" is bad but todays RAP songs are full of the "N" word .

[@lesblatnyak5947]

Better not listen to Kung Fu Fighting 😂

[@maggierioux6501]

This song has never been cancelled.

[@shelleywright749]

In the early 70s when I attended high school, we had a juke box in the cafeteria. This played every day during lunch. We had more of a "live and let live" attitude back then. I still have my fringed buckskin jacket hanging in the closet. Oh, my goodness. So homesick for the seventies! Thanks for sharing your reactions. Your facial expressions are priceless. ✌💖

[@francismcknight724]

It's a shame we can't have the live and let live attitude these days. Just do your thing as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else

[@williamswiniuch7527]

Your face during the first two verses are still making me laugh 😂 😂😂

[@dianewien683]

I love watching you listen to this old music! I was born in the late 40's and love all music up to about the 70's. I was raised listening to music from the early 1900's until the early 80's. I love listening to the words as much as the melodies!

[@sukie584]

Lou Reed was a true Poet & he had a unique way of celebrating people who were marginalized, & often faced violence & rejection by society. Everyone in this song is a real person that was part of Andy Warhol’s circle known as Superstars. Candy is Candy Darling a gorgeous trans woman. She’s also named in The Rolling Stones song Citadel & In Lou’s earlier band The Velvet Underground in Candy Says, which is one of the most gorgeous & sad songs. ..

[@Jonnot-vo1qc]

And don't forget, Jackie is Jackie Curtis and Little Joe is Joe Dellassandro...all Factory habitues and counterculture icons.

[@pttp5509]

Lou Reed was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice - as a solo artist and with the Velvet Inderground. He was very influential. Check out Rock and Roll by the Velvet Underground

[@robertalker652]

I knew this tune was going to make your head almost do a 360. One of my all time favorites.

[@johnandrews3151]

Arguably the most progressive lyrics for a single release in the early 1970's😮A top 20 hit😊

[@kevinjones4559]

Maybe 'Lola' by the Kinks needs adding to the list.

[@michaellockhart554]

Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Delasandro, Joe Campbell aka Sugar Plumb Fairy, and Jackie Curtis. Each is a real life person that is associated with The Factory that Andy Warhol has in NYC

[@poochiebudd]

OMG. Your reaction is priceless. 1972. Good times.

[@kenlawless7247]

He's talking about people who were attracted to Andy Warhol's "factory" or the NY counterculture movement of the late 60's. Many of them were what would be called transvestites in their day. I hope I successfully navigated through that without committing a speech crime.

[@chanmi1957]

It's sad that you have to be wary about posting your opinion. 1984 keeps getting closer.

[@flor9389]

You did a good job.

[@Rmeyer1226]

Yes!

[@a-mellila1520]

Candy Darling was my all time favourite!

[@Rmeyer1226]

@@a-mellila1520 Me too.

[@nickpotter1208]

You are a lucky man BP. Discovering these gems from the very best musical decades..........❤

[@allenruss2976]

I knew as soon as I saw the title I knew the wide eyes were coming. You didn't disappoint

[@ricksurratt9034]

Lol

[@karensilvera6694]

Me too. I was waiting for his jaw to drop. BP never fails to give his real reaction 😅

[@Cchan53]

Right ? Lol

[@gregroberts8240]

😂 one of those songs that NO one is prepared for!

[@billschild3371]

😂😂😂😂. I was waiting for his eyes to start bugging out.

[@ultrasquid]

Lou Reed was possibly the greatest of the talk-singers. I don't really know how to describe it beyond that. He has a massive library of bangers. "Perfect Day" is worth a listen. The two tracks he did for the "Rock and Rule" film are great too, taken in context of the character he was performing as.

[@Cchan53]

Thats how I describe rappers..they don't sing but talk over a beat..

[@jasonremy1627]

Lou Reed lived it like he sang it.

[@kellyt5341]

🖐..... This one caught my attention..😂

[@lorrainedarconte917]

This is a CLASSIC. Can't believe it's your first time hearing it (considering you're in the industry)....this came out in 1972 (hence, the colored girls). Reed always "talks" (for singing). Saw him live in the mid-70s in a small club in NY. Fantastic.

[@angelaeason5438]

And this song never gets old.

[@GianniGiorgini-j9z]

GREAT SONG LOU REED AMAZING VOICE.......

[@bubbasmith6505]

Different times when people weren't as coddled as they are now. When truths were spoken without anyone feeling like they needed to be protected or have had their feelings hurt. Miss those times when color was only worried about by artists and painters and not by people who are bored and need an excuse to complain.

[@ConspiracySmurf]

Yeah we only did that for little kids. Adult World meant you WERE gonna get your feelings hurt and you had to deal with it. Period.

[@Jane-d4w]

Yassss!!!!❤❤❤

[@wilsonwarner6903]

so, so true

[@normancharlesworth1289]

Well said sir! Well said! Sadly , it is a different world . Remember when artists let YOU decide how to feel about stuff? Or feel stuff ?

[@drums4b]

I lived in Orange County California back in the 70's and made friends with all kids. I remember making friends with a black guy while others shunned him. I never understood why and always had fun with him.

[@jantonkens9820]

RIP Herby Flowers. Thanks for your music on so many songs

[@RullVox]

I was surprised the radio even played this song back in the day, but they did. Lou Reed started out with the band The Velvet Underground they were promoted by Andy Warhol. Read was a wild guy and lived hard, there's a lot of his music that I love.

[@thomaswilliams2273]

They usually omitted the island/darling verse, and only one reference to his backup singers.

[@deaschofield9394]

Lou is an 'Alternative' icon. A true legend.

[@angelado3]

😆🤣🤣 I also knew the faces were coming ! LOL

[@BadgerBJJ]

Lou Reed and Velvet Underground were iconic. He’s pure old school NYC.

[@lesliespeck8717]

Dude your reactions to the verses are absolutely worth the price of admission. Epic.

[@mymuses4336]

Mr. LOU! One of the BEST tunesmiths EVER! ^..^

[@janineivey03121]

Lou Reed was a total vibe, and I am So happy to see artists discovering him

[@johnd.lictro1312]

I was hysterical when I saw BP decide to do this! I'm rolling!

[@todddepue681]

Lou and the people he talks about in this song were all part of artist Andy Warhol's studio called The Factory. They defined the NYC counter culture arts scene in the late 60s thru the 80s. Hugely influential.

[@kathydurow6814]

And "The Apollo" was the Apollo Theater in Harlem NY. Looking it up, in the 60s it hosted a lot of important artists: BB King, Aretha, Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix, The Supremes, The Temptations, "little" Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Joe Tex, The Jewel Box Review (integrated drag show), James Brown, etc... And that was just the 60s. Prior to that it hosted the black jazz greats as well as diverse theater, burlesque, etc.. Open in that format from the 1930s to the late 70s.

[@krerickson1]

Read "Just Kids" by Patti Smith for another view of the era.

[@MikeMize]

Lou Reed was in a band called the Velvet Underground in the late 60's that garnered some decent attention among the Avant Garde scene of that period. Reed left left the band for a solo career in 1970 and again developed a Glam Rock following. Wild Side was his first hit and made it up to #16 on Billboard's Hot 100. The flip side of the single "Perfect Day" was another fav of many of his fans. He maintained a loyal following with fans of experimental music but was never a top draw. Probably due to his having a long term addiction to meth and alcohol. While he was never a huge act himself, he influenced a lot of others including David Bowie. Even so, he was still active until not long before he died in 2013(?).

[@botlus4727]

1972, things where different. Language, habits and so on. All this people existed, at the time. Your face expression was priceless 🤣🤣🤣 Cheers from Berlin 👍🍀😎

[@zsazsavoom]

Lou Reed was iconic, starting with his work with The Velvet Underground. He has depth that might fly over many people's ears, especially on a first listen. Every character mentioned in the song was part of the NY/Warhol scene.

[@Miztrez2Muzik]

Your face!!!! 😂 We were crazy in the 70s 😂 Some of us still are 😂

[@Cchan53]

You betcha!

[@TNhills1962]

Yes Jenny, yes 😉

[@chanmi1957]

Hey Jenny, I resemble that remark!😂

[@faithcat7675]

Some of his songs are absolutely crushing. There Taking the Children Away, is probably the saddest. Artist and he was also a photographer. Friends with Andy Warhol.

[@Brandi6666]

Lou was truely unique. Folks were drawn to him like a magnet. And he exposed all of new yorks seedy nightlife to the world

[@bclaymoore]

Your story about your friend's dad nailed it. Without much context for the song or Reed's perspective, you intuitively got it. That says something for the song and your ears. I appreciate the channel.

[@esmepoms]

I’m Gen X. This was a song from my childhood. Had no idea how controversial the lyrics were until we were adults.

[@lrsrosebud]

Right? 😂

[@katiegwynn4495]

Same here. But I'd add that this content wasn't controversial when we were kids. Everyone just kinda rolled with it. Now, for some ridiculous politics, they're thrusting it to the front of consciousness. One more way to conquer and divide

[@kubbybear5458]

maybe you're thinking the marky mark version for gen x? this one's a bit older than that one @esmepoms

[@sbjchef]

This is classic boomer/gen z, I'm 58 so this is my childhood 😊

[@lordessducky8494]

@@kubbybear5458, no, I’m an early gen xer and this is definitely from my childhood.😉

[@emilys3458]

I adore this song. I lived in NYC when this first came out and knew many people who are like those described in this song. People moved here to reinvent themselves, to be whoever or whatever they want to be, and no one cared, at least in the world that we all inhabited. Fantastic times, so free and open....sigh

[@isabelsilva62023]

A song from a time when people were not afraid of words, the people mentioned are the "tribe" from Andy Warhol's Factory, Joe is Joe D'Alessandro, all real people. Always find it ironic when the young (present company not included) think music nowadays is being so out there and radical, what a laugh, everything was already done 40, 50 years ago with a lot more class, talent and brilliance.

[@ConspiracySmurf]

P R E A C H ! ! ! And we didn't need to label it "DEI", etc. We just did it. We just lived. We just had two fingers up. We just listened to the music and had a good time!!!

[@BusyBadger]

​@@ConspiracySmurfAbsolutely. Ironically enough one of the great sources for that nugget of wisdom is from a source most never expect. "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." - Ecclesiastes 1:9

[@isabelsilva62023]

@@ConspiracySmurf We looked at people for who they were not the skin tone, life was simple because we knew how to go about it, everything is "drama" now.

[@isabelsilva62023]

@@BusyBadger Quite so, most people do not remember or relate to that immediately but everything is always a remake of the past. The difference is younger generations do not seem to be aware the world had been here since forever when they were born...

[@unrulyjulie4382]

​@BusyBadger ... So said the wisest man to ever live.

[@warrenhughes911]

Great reaction again.. Yo, this is the start of 'Punk Rock '

[@AP-gb3eh]

Reed “Iconic”was always a poet musician. The young are so uptight and ridiculous! We were open to all back in the day ,city kids understood the walk of life . When the “good people = uptight judgmental hypocrites ” threw their children aside they ran away to the city and made new families out of anyone who had a good vibe . Music was the our center of life. His song Perfect Day is lovely

[@ksborder]

Perfect Day is really perfect!

[@premeditatedplan5417]

Glad you finally did this one. So all the characters in the song are real people that Lou meet and knew. All of them were what is termed as "super fans" of the artist Andy Warhol who hung out with him at his studio in New York called The Factory. The following is my take on the song. Warhol was a magnet for people who walked on the wild side, who were "free" per say of the confines of social expectations. Reed himself was a heroine addict. Note the use of the term 'sugar plum fairy' is a streetname for drug dealer back then. The song sets up a juxtaposition with the line "and the coloured girls sing". Cast your mind back to late 60s, early 70s. Its the height of Motown and this idea that Motown elevates people of colour yet, as we know now, that it was very reluctant to diverge from its branding of 'and the coloured girls sing' do-do-do, meaning confined in their art. But the real tragedy of the song and the sadness is that even those who are "free" are not so maybe now and then take a walk on the wild brother and look for a centre. Again, this is just my interpretation of the song, because for me, its a very sad song.

[@cerisewilson4088]

Your facial reactions always make me laugh my ass off! Lou Reed isn’t a vocal virtuoso but he has some great songs with Velvet Underground. Check out songs like Heroin, Pale Blue Eyes, and Sweet Jane. He also did an album in the 90s with John Cale from The Velvet Underground as a tribute to Andy Warhol.

[@joanallen5253]

I love Pale Blue eyes!

[@patswanson2870]

@@joanallen5253Are there any rappers who are virtuosos? I don’t listen to very much Rap so I don’t know.

[@simonrangeley]

John Cale was asked what made the Velvets so different. He replied, "Have you ever listened to Venus in Furs". I'd love to see BP react to that. I enjoy his reactions but at times it is clear he's a bit of a prude

[@marcelotto6825]

Your "innocence" is so refreshing! The 1960's and early 1970's were incredible.

[@VickiCampbell-1216]

Back in the earlier days, early 70s and prior the word "Colored" was proper to use in the nomenclature of the time. We grew up "color blind" and loved one another along with all the mixed music scenes. 💙🎶💙 This was one of those obscure songs we'd hear on the radio. 😄What a trip!!

[@joannparker1977]

This music was really so revolutionary. As the 60's went. I missed it. I was a little girl and towards the end on the decade 9. I was the oldest so I was never exposed to any of this music when it came out. It dribbled out to me over the decades. When I was a teenager in the 70's, well, I was consumed by all the great stuff of that decade. Plus, we didn't have the technology we would've needed back then.

[@pyroishere]

He used the "colored girls" line to represent the backup singers in rock music like for Elvis and The Stones, for example, because even though the singers/band didn't have the melanin in their epidermis, they needed the true soul sound. I think that's it anyways, hell, I'm jus here for the entertainment. I was laughing so hard watching you react. "Can I kick it?" is a great sample. Great reaction again! 40!

[@mymuses4336]

What I love about how Lou wrote these songs, is that he was writing from experience...living in that era of NY's DECADENCE period...1972. He wrote plainly about all the different folks that he had encountered and knew...straights, gays, trans, hustlers, bustlers, artists, junkies and the like...he gave all a voice! ^..^

[@docdurdin]

In the recesses of the streets of LA and New York, you will find the darkest wild side. Known as a counterculture anthem the song received wide radio coverage. It became Reed's biggest hit and signature song[ while touching on topics considered taboo at the time, such as transgender people, drugs, male prostitution, and oral sex.

[@vbxtc625]

Short People was pretty great, too.

[@pagaporvista569]

I was a kid when this song came out so it was way above my head. My uncle loved this song and would sing it all the time. I was probably in my 30s when I listened to it again with adult ears and was like WTF??!! Yes, pretty progressive for the day.

[@Cchan53]

Saw Vevet Underground in Ohio in a high school gymnasium with Roy Orbison, Alice Cooper and War...tickets weren't even $10 !!! That's the kind of concerts we had in my time! Great times!

[@auburnkim1989]

Wow! That's almost as good as seeing the Beatles at the Cavern Club to me. I have been an Alice Cooper fan since I was a nine year old little girl! Still have all my 45s.

[@gbsailing9436]

I can't believe all these reactors: " I live under a rock" excuse for not hearing ALL these CLASSIC songs !!! The song was everywhere and gets played on radio ALL the time! This has to be the classic of ALL classic songs, and you haven't heard it???!! Come on, man, No way! Lou was huge and a VERY influential artist in his day. You would do well to check out all his stuff. Start with: "Perfect Day", "Satellite of Love", "Berlin", "Cony Island Baby", "Romeo and Juliet", "Sweet Jane", "Dirty Blvd." .

[@willrichardson519]

Maybe it says something about social/musical segregation?

[@gbsailing9436]

@@willrichardson519 Perhaps...

[@marckusel5602]

Produced by The David Bowie 🔥

[@LizzieJaneBennet]

Mutual admiration love and respect.

[@personalcheeses8073]

And Mick Ronson

[@donderkatje63]

I saw lou reed in 1984 at a concert in belgium. Legendary 👌

[@joeuncoolio]

BP, you didn't disappoint. Those faces were awesome. Loved it.

[@BayouCityzen]

The fact that this reminds you of your friend's father as a photographer is so apt! This song describes a place and time in word imagery. Like a good photograph, you don't always get a literal capture of what is in front of the lens. As for Lou Reed and how good a singer he is, it is better to look at him and think of how good a poet he is. Other artists in this vein from this place and time you might try are Jim Carroll - 'People Who Died' and Patti Smith - 'Gloria'.

[@karensilvera6694]

They are all based on real people who were friends of Andy Warhol in NYC. It's been said to be the anthem of the counterculture in the 60s and 70s. Yes, you got all of it right. This had huge air play when it came out. You need to see the live version. He did have African American back up singers. No part of the song was meant to be disparaging or taken that way at the time. David Bowie helped him record.... Not exactly sure but I think he was one of the producers.

[@kerrysmethurst3972]

Thanks for the info 😊. Love it when people give the who what where whys. Saves us all the googles. I do it myself when I know but always feel like I’m flexing. I’m not , I just like to share and keep the conversation going and it all helps BP’s algorithm so it’s winner winner for all 🙌🏻

[@karensilvera6694]

​@@kerrysmethurst3972 I had friends in the late 70s who shared their knowledge. I was lucky to have eclectic friends.

[@kerrysmethurst3972]

@@karensilvera6694 I was born ‘78 so my teen / exploring music properly was the 90’s so I was still a child of finding fan facts etc from album sleeves and then cassette fold out that stretched about 2 metres once unfolded and then various magazines. And then as like you a variety of friends that between myself and them we got background info. We finally got sky tv which had MTV and VH1 around ‘92 but it was music then and that was pretty much it. As it evolved in the UK 🇬🇧 we got interviews etc and that involved genres and shows and then it we all know what happened to mtv. So thank god for KZbin lol

[@lizetteolsen3218]

Very true. Bowie was a huge fan of his, and could not understand why he did not have a wider audience. Lou had a lot of vices and challenges during that time frame (60s-70s). His relationship with Bowie was fraught with friction--Reed was prickly. He never craved an audience--he just did his thing.

[@indii1]

Love Lou Reed. The 70s were definitely very different than today.

[@melissagrover9727]

People who love this song 110% love this song. They are an interesting group

[@katy4639]

So true!

[@Barbara-lu2sj]

If you want to hear Lou Reed sing, listen to Perfect Day. His voice was not conventional, but it's a beautiful song. Lou Reed 3/2/42-10/27/13. Gone over 10 years now.

[@elizabethfranco1284]

This is the counter culture anthem. All these are based on real people.

[@Cchan53]

Yup..lived in NYC during this period...

[@lipby]

There is another version of this video on KZbin that includes Warhol's footage of these people. It's amazing.

[@trevorleggo1777]

This was vanguard art 50 years ago..take a moment to think about what he was saying, back then... Brilliant !! This was pre-punk.. Gorgeous stuff... There is so much if you dig deep in the 70's. I was born 1960 and this was all in my formidable years.. All the richer for it and still hearing the latest stuff we have lived in interesting times.

[@michaelavery6390]

In 1997 Lou Reed released a single called Perfect Day which was the b side to the single Walk on the Wild Side. It was a BBC charity single and it reached no1 in the UK, Ireland and Norway. In this song you can hear more of Lou Reeds singing voice.

[@kanalnamn]

Walk on the wild side and Perfect day on the same single back in 1971... that's one hell of a combo.

[@sidrat2009]

@@kanalnamn Wow that's one heck of missed opportunity. Perfect Day should have been a single in its own right.

[@trashandcheese3636]

You have to go back to the Velvet Underground to hear Lou singing "melodically" - already at this point his voice was changing, and (judging by live tapes) by 1976 he'd become the stylishly atonal vocalist we've gotten used to (i.e the With You-type voice was already there).

[@personalcheeses8073]

The original is as always the best.

[@mylanwright5948]

6:10 mark I absolutely laughed so hard. Your face…😅😅😅

[@chassetterfield9559]

' That ' bass line was, as mentioned, laid down by the great London session bass player Herbie Flowers. People have tried to recreate it, and generally failed. Because, he used an acoustic upright double bass, overlaid with a Fender 'Jazz' electric guitar. The two just work subtly together. As a bonus, he got paid a double session fee, for recording two tracks on the mix.

[@joelmclean2898]

I love watching reactions to songs like this in this day and age. It is always amusing to see the reaction when the song sinks in. Imagine hearing this on the radio.

[@lynette.]

Saw him do this live at the Crystal Palace bowl the whole concert was closed by James Taylor singing during a thunderstorm his voice soared above it all . It was a magical afternoon

[@HobDobson]

This song even played on AM radio back in the day, for all the rocker kids 8 to 80. "Perfect Day" is like velvet barbed wire for the heart once you get it.

[@isaacracster1644]

Pre-solo Lou Reed check out the Velvet Underground

[@sbombeck5419]

THIS! If you want to see how much wierder Lou Reed can get try VU, Venus in Furs, Sunday Morning, and Heroin for a really wide swath.

[@deborahpaley21]

@@sbombeck5419 Sister Ray, White Light/White Heat, He She Comes Now

[@larrytoler5528]

Sweet Jane

[@pageribe2399]

Also, Andy Warhol

[@ellbanks425]

Yep you were born too late.

[@corvus1374]

I stayed at a tiny hotel in Amsterdam back in the 70s, and this song was on the juke box and got played a LOT

[@lizetteolsen3218]

Lou Reed was an amazing composer/songwriter. All of the people referenced in this tune were actual people in his life. He was unflinching in his perspective. The tune was innovative at the time--the lyrics were appropriate for the time. The whole album (Transformer) is an amazing experience, IMO. Your facial expression throughout the tune--priceless. Given the content, you reflect how radio stations responded to this song at the time. LOL

[@ohfour-seven6228]

Having 1770 comments, I couldn't go through all of them to see if anyone gave you the Warhol connection, but Lou Reed was a member of the band, The Velvet Underground, who were infamous in NYC. They hung out with Andy Warhol's group of artists at The Factory, Warhol's studio/hangout. Reed is acknowledged as an important figure in rock, and very influential to musicians that followed. Check out The Velvet's songs Sweet Jane (covered by tons of other artists), Rock and Roll and Heroin. He passed a while back but is an important figure in music. And by the way, this song received radio airplay here in Columbus, Ohio and across the country, although many stations refused to play it. I doubt if it would get on the air today. But those were different times....

[@Degner]

This song is essentially a documentary in song form of what the Disco Club scene was like in the early 70s. Cross dressing and bathroom BJs were common. Also, as shocking as that one term is in the 21st century, it was still pretty commonplace in the 70s.

[@sharonflaherty2768]

Love Lou Reed!! I actually saw him at Anaheim Stadium in the early 70’s!!!

[@mitzifrancis9843]

Your immediate connection to your friend's father and his NYC stories is, imo, on point. This song is about various real people living unconventional lives. I agree with several others who commented that the line, "and the colored girls sing", is intended to make a point about the realities of the music business for many years. It was thought provoking when I first heard it. It made me more curious about all the people who contribute to the music I love, not just those at the dront of the stage. I started reading album liner notes more carefully to learn who contributed what to the song

[@craigreyland]

Hey bro I’m here in nz .been watching ya reactions.i enjoy it a lot,cracks me up. U and Dons banter is gold.and the fact u know the info bout samples by rap crews is super cool. Much respect to you

[@RealGrover]

There‘s a lot to say about this gem of a song, but what immediately mesmerised me as a young boy just getting into listening to music and still to this day was the main bass line(s). I couldn’t get it for quite some time what exactly about it makes it so dreamlike until I realised it‘s actually two basses sliding in reverse to each other, one slides up while another one down. Then the coloured girls do the same thing in their harmony.

[@chanmi1957]

I got a kick out of BP when he was surprised at the "colored girls" part. That's what we called black people back then. I'm so glad I was raised by parents that taught us to look beyond racial boundries and the length of someone's hair.

[@maryferazza2573]

You’re killing me…yes that “head” line got past the censor’s. I’m a 77 year old long time fan of Lou Reed and love your reactions ☺️

[@PuzzledlifeTV]

Lou Reed was the main singer of Velvet Underground. Iconic band. WIth which we wouldn't have Nirvana, Talking Heads, Cardiacs, pretty much every indie band ever since. Well the fek done for even listening to this classic (now go do Venus In Furs - another song by Vellvet Underground). Keep up the good work dog ;) as |I leave this comment listen to the coloured girls go... do do dahdadododahdodahdoo

[@jimreid4367]

FUN FACT : The Saxaphone player is British musician Ronnie Ross . Back when David Bowie was a child he took saxaphone lessons and Ronnie Ross was his teacher .