Lou Reed Dead at 71

Velvet Underground veteran had liver transplant in May
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 27, 2013 12:47 PM CDT
Lou Reed Dead at 71
Lou Reed.   (PRNewsFoto/Grey)

Iconic rocker Lou Reed has died today at the age of 71, reports Rolling Stone in a lengthy obituary celebrating the "massively influential songwriter and guitarist who helped shape nearly fifty years of rock music." No cause of death was immediately released, but Reed underwent a life-saving liver transplant in May. Reed made his name in the '60s with the Velvet Underground, churning out such classics as "Rock & Roll" and "Sweet Jane" and hobnobbing with Andy Warhol, before meandering through a solo career without which "glam, punk, and alternative rock are all unthinkable." Click for the full obituary. (More Lou Reed stories.)

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