Lou Reed, a man so respected in the music community, that people still listened to his music after he put out Metal Machine Music in 1975. Viewed as one of the greatest new age visionaries of all time, he founded the band The Velvet Underground alongside John Cale and released their first album The Velvet Underground & Nico in 1967. The cover of the album is one of Andy Warhol’s most famous painting, seen here, and was used because Warhol thought that the band had many layers, like a banana.

Even though they were never commercially successful, they are considered one of the most influential bands when it comes to punk and new wave music. The singer/songwriter, Lou Reed, used his lyrics to tell gripping stories about the rock and roll scene. The band eventually fell apart in 1970,and although bassist Doug Yule tried to take control of the band, releasing 1973’s Squeeze, it received terrible reviews and the band was officially kaput.

This video is from A Night With Lou Reed from 1983, more than a decade into his solo career. He performs this live documentary at The Bottom of The Line in Greenwich Village where Reed started. The whole concert is available on youtube, so if your a fan and haven’t seen this yet, do so.