John Cale

John Davies Cale was born on March 9th, 1942 in Wales. He is best known for cofounding The Velvet Underground with Lou Reed in 1965. Cale studied music at Goldsmiths College at the University of London after discovering his love for playing the viola as a child. After graduation from college, Cale moved to New York City and before founding The Velvet Underground, worked with many different artists and bands. During his time with The Velvet Underground, he sang and played the viola, bass guitar, piano, and organ. Lou Reed and John Cale had very different tastes, and in 1968, John Cale left the band due to his and Reed’s constant creative disagreements.

John Cale began his solo career in the 1970s, and released his best known solo album Paris 1919 in 1973. After leaving The Velvet Underground, and establishing a solo career, Cale produced and collaborated with other bands. During his solo career, he worked with Nick Drake, LCD Soundsystem, and Patti Smith, to name a few. Cale was heavily involved in the New York drug scene in the 1960s and 1970s, his drug of choice being cocaine. "In the '60s, for me, drugs were a cool experiment... In the '70s, I got in over my head." During this time, from 1968 to 1971, he was married to famous American fashion designer Betsey Johnson. Cale married and divorced two more times and has one daughter from his last marriage. Today, John Cale lives in Los Angeles, California and still performs, either with his band or with other musicians.