Recording Process

The Velvet Underground and Nico was recorded in 1966 at Scepter Studios in New York City. The album was released on March 12^th, 1967.  Three of the songs: Venus in Furs, I’m Waiting for the Man, and Heroin were rerecorded at T.T.G Studios in Hollywood California before the album’s 1967 release.

The Velvet Underground's Place in 1960s Music History

The Velvet Underground was not a popular band during its lifetime. Its popularity grew immensely after its demise. While they were still performing as a band, they hand a dedicated cult following. Although they were not high on the charts during their time, they have received a high place in the charts of musical history. According to besteveralbums.com, a website where people are able to rank albums on thousands of different charts, The Velvet Underground & Nico, The Velvet Underground’s debut album, has a high place on the charts. It is ranked the second best album of 1967, the fifth best album of the 1960s, and the eleventh best album of all time. According to PopVertex, a website which lists the one hundred greatest albums of all time, “from the early days of rock when records from Elvis Presley and Little Richard caught the attention of the public, right up to today's most important artists,” The Velvet Underground & Nico is ranked as the nineteenth greatest album of all time. It also holds a place on the Billboard Top 200 Chart, albeit lower down, at 171st. One particular song on their debut album, Heroin, received the 455th place on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, as well as being included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The Velvet Underground was never a mainstream band, however, they never yearned to be, but they have accumulated a strong following over the past forty-six years since their formation.

Heroin

Lyrics

I don't know just where I'm going
But I'm gonna try for the kingdom, if I can
'cause it makes me feel like I'm a man
When I put a spike into my vein
And I'll tell ya, things aren't quite the same
When I'm rushing on my run
And I feel just like Jesus' son
And I guess that I just don't know
And I guess that I just don't know

I have made the big decision
I'm gonna try to nullify my life
'cause when the blood begins to flow
When it shoots up the dropper's neck
When I'm closing in on death
And you can't help me now, you guys
And all you sweet girls with all your sweet talk
You can all go take a walk
And I guess that I just don't know
And I guess that I just don't know

I wish that I was born a thousand years ago
I wish that I'd sail the darkened seas
On a great big clipper ship
Going from this land here to that
In a sailor's suit and cap
Away from the big city
Where a man can not be free
Of all of the evils of this town
And of himself, and those around
Oh, and I guess that I just don't know
Oh, and I guess that I just don't know

Heroin, be the death of me
Heroin, it's my wife and it's my life
Because a mainer to my vein
Leads to a center in my head
And then I'm better off and dead
Because when the smack begins to flow
I really don't care anymore
About all the Jim-Jim's in this town
And all the politicians makin' crazy sounds
And everybody puttin' everybody else down
And all the dead bodies piled up in mounds

'cause when the smack begins to flow
Then I really don't care anymore
Ah, when the heroin is in my blood
And that blood is in my head
Then thank God that I'm as good as dead
Then thank your God that I'm not aware
And thank God that I just don't care
And I guess I just don't know
And I guess I just don't know

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.

Sterling Morrison

Sterling Morrison was born Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr. on August 28th, 1942. He was born and raised in East Meadow, New York. He studied the trumpet as a child, but switched to guitar when his teacher was drafted. Sterling Morrison attended Syracuse University and majored in English. This is where he met Lou Reed, who was also English major, and Maureen Tucker’s brother, his roommate. They separated when Morrison dropped out but reunited in New York City in 1965, which is where The Velvet Underground got its start. Once Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison reunited they began The Velvet Underground with a friend of Reed’s, John Cale. Morrison’s role in the Velvet Underground was primarily playing the guitar or bass, although the bass was not his favorite. The role of lead guitar fluctuated between Morrison and Reed until their third album, when the role became Morrison’s. Morrison was able to finish his studies at City College in 1970 while The Velvet Underground was stationed in New York City for an extended period of time. When the band moved to Texas, Morrison earned his PhD in medieval studies from The University of Texas at Austin. Morrison enjoyed Texas so much that he decided to stay. His last performance with The Velvet Underground was in Houston, Texas on August 21st, 1971. When the band headed back to New York City, Morrison accompanied them as far as the airport, with an empty suitcase in hand, until he informed them, at the gate, that he’d decided to leave the band. After that, Morrison’s music career simmered. He continued to perform occasionally in Texas, but only for his own personal enjoyment. He worked with a few bands throughout Texas, most notably The Bizarros. While he did not play with The Velvet Underground again until the 1990s, he did perform with his former band mates; Cale, Reed, and Tucker, on various occasions. For the most part, throughout the 1980s, Morrison became the captain of a tugboat. Morrison married a woman named Martha and they had two children, Mary Anne and Thomas. In the early 1990s, The Velvet Underground reunited for a European tour, both headlining and opening up for U2. There were thoughts of an American tour, however tensions grew during the European tour and that idea was nixed. In 1994 Morrison went on tour with Maureen Tucker’s band. He was also diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1994, which he died from on August 30th, 1995, two days after his 53rd birthday.

Track Listing

Side One

1. Sunday Morning (written by Lou Reed, John Cale)
2. I'm Waiting for the Man (written by Lou Reed)
3. Femme Fatale (written by Lou Reed)
4. Venus in Furs (written by Lou Reed)
5. Run Run Run (written by Lou Reed)
6. All Tomorrow's Parties (written by Lou Reed)

Side Two

1. Heroin (written by Loud Reed)
2. There She Goes Again (written by Lou Reed)
3. I'll Be Your Mirror (written by Lou Reed)
4. The Black Angel's Death Song (written by Lou Reed, John Cale)
5. European Son (written by Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Maureen Tucker)

Interview with Ms. Andrucyk