The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground (abbreviated as The Velvets or V.U.) were an American rock and roll band of the late 1960s. Its best-known alumni are Lou Reed and John Cale.

Loaded (1970)

In 1969, MGM Records president Mike Curb wanted to purge any drug- or hippie-related bands from MGM, and the V.U. were on his list, along with Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. (Nonetheless, MGM insisted on keeping the tapes of their unissued recordings.)

Related Topics:
Mike Curb - Drug - Hippie - Frank Zappa - Mothers of Invention

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Atlantic Records signed the Velvet Underground for what would be their final studio album, Loaded, released on their subsidiary label Cotillion. The album's title refers to Atlantic's request that the band produce an album "loaded with hits." Though the record was not the smash hit the company had anticipated, it contains the most accessible pop the V.U. had performed, and several of Reed's best-known songs, including "Sweet Jane" and "Rock and Roll".

Related Topics:
Atlantic Records - Cotillion - Pop

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Loaded was edited without Reed's approval. He was particularly bitter about the truncation of a verse from "Sweet Jane". "New Age" was changed as well: as originally recorded, its closing line ("It's the beginning of a new age") was repeated many more times. (Years later, the album would be reissued as Reed had originally intended.)

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Though Tucker had retired from the group due to her pregnancy, she received a performance credit on Loaded. Drums were actually played by several people, including Yule, engineer Adrian Barber, sessioneer Tommy Castanaro, and Doug Yule's brother Billy, who was still in high school.

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Disillusioned with the lack of progress the band was making and feeling pressured by manager Sesnick, Reed decided to quit the band and did so in August 1970, just prior to the release of Loaded. (He said later "I left them to their album full of hits that I made.")

Related Topics:
August - 1970

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