Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed song) explained

Walk on the Wild Side
Type:single
Artist:Lou Reed
Album:Transformer
A-Side:Perfect Day
Recorded:August 1972
Studio:Trident (London, England)
Genre:Glam rock[1] [2]
Label:RCA Victor
Producer:
Prev Title:Walk and Talk It
Prev Year:1972
Next Title:Satellite of Love
Next Year:1973

"Walk on the Wild Side" is a song by American rock musician Lou Reed from his second solo studio album, Transformer (1972). It was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson and released as a double A-side with "Perfect Day".[3] Known as a counterculture anthem,[4] the song received wide radio coverage[5] and became Reed's biggest hit[6] and signature song[7] while touching on topics considered taboo at the time, such as transgender people, drugs, male prostitution, and oral sex.[8]

The song's lyrics, describing a series of individuals and their journeys to New York City, refer to several of the regular "superstars" at Andy Warhol's New York studio, the Factory; the song mentions Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis and Joe Campbell (referred to in the song by the nickname "Sugar Plum Fairy").

In 2013, The New York Times described "Walk on the Wild Side" as a "ballad of misfits and oddballs" that "became an unlikely cultural anthem, a siren song luring generations of people ... to a New York so long forgotten as to seem imaginary". In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked "Walk on the Wild Side" at number 223 in its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.[9]

In 2015, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[10]

Inspiration

In the 2001 documentary Classic Albums: Lou Reed: Transformer, Reed says that it was Nelson Algren's 1956 novel, A Walk on the Wild Side (itself titled after the 1952 song "The Wild Side of Life"),[11] that was the launching point for the song, even though, as it grew, the song became inhabited by characters from his own life. As with several other Reed songs from the 1970s, the title may also be an allusion to an earlier song, in this case Mack David and Elmer Bernstein's "Walk on the Wild Side", the Academy Award-nominated title song performed by Brook Benton for the 1962 film based on Algren's novel. During his performance of the song on his 1978 album, Reed humorously explains the song's development from a request that he write the music for the never-completed musical version of Algren's novel.

Each verse refers to one of the "superstars" at Andy Warhol's New York studio, the Factory.[12]

Musicians and musical elements

Like many of Reed's songs, "Walk on the Wild Side" is based on a simple chord progression alternating between C major and F major, or I and IV in harmonic analysis. The pre-chorus introduces the II chord (D major).[21]

The baritone saxophone solo played over the fadeout of the song is performed by Ronnie Ross, who had taught David Bowie to play the saxophone during Bowie's childhood.[22] The backing vocals are sung by Thunderthighs, a vocal group that included Dari Lalou, Karen Friedman, and Casey Synge.[23] [24] Drums were played by Ritchie Dharma using brushes rather than drumsticks.[25] David Bowie plays acoustic guitar on the track.[26]

The song is noted for its twinned ascending and descending portamento basslines played by Herbie Flowers. In an interview on BBC Radio 4 (Playing Second Fiddle, aired July 2005), Flowers claimed the reason he came up with the twin bass lines was that as a session musician, he would be paid double for playing two instruments on the same track.[27] Flowers's bass hook was performed on double bass overlaid by fretless Fender Jazz Bass. He was paid a £17 flat fee .

Critical reception

The lyrics of "Walk on the Wild Side" were groundbreaking and risqué for their time, telling stories not usually told in rock songs up to then and containing references to prostitution, transgender people, and oral sex.[28] "I always thought it would be kinda fun to introduce people to characters they maybe hadn't met before, or hadn't wanted to meet", Reed said.[29] "Walk on the Wild Side" became a worldwide hit.[30] The single peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts in early 1973.[31]

Record World called it a "real leftfielder from the former Velvet Undergrounder" and said that "programmers will be cautious at first but then will have to go with it".[32]

The term "colored girls" was an issue in the US. RCA in 1972 provided radio stations with a version without the reference to oral sex, and changing the line "colored girls" to "and the girls".[33] However, most radio stations continued to play the original, uncensored version.[34] In the UK, the oral sex reference slipped past the censors, who in 1972–73 were apparently unfamiliar with the term "giving head".[35]

In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it as the 223rd greatest song of all time.[9] After the announcement of Reed's death in October 2013, both the song and the Transformer album re-charted via iTunes.[36]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1972–1973)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[37] 100
Canada RPM[38] 18
US Cash Box Top 100 17
Chart (2013)Peak
position
Italy (FIMI)[39] 17
UK Singles (OCC)[40] 53

Year-end charts

Cover versions

In addition to the cover versions, Brazilian singer Cazuza mentioned "Walk on the Wild Side" in his 1985 song "Portuguese: Só as mães são felizes|i=no" ("Only mothers are happy"), from his debut solo career album Portuguese: Exagerado: the verse is "Portuguese: Você nunca viu|i=no Lou Reed walking on the wild side" ("You've never seen Lou Reed walking on the wild side").

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lou Reed . . June 7, 2016 . Fleischmann, Mark and Ira Robbins.
  2. Web site: Gold Dust: Glam rock's top 10 singles. Pepinster. Catherine. August 15, 1998. The Independent. February 9, 2021.
  3. Web site: The seven best covers of Lou Reed songs. August 26, 2021.
  4. Web site: Arctic Monkeys cover of Lou Reed's 'Walk on the Wild Side'. July 12, 2020.
  5. Web site: The Classic Album at Midnight – Lou Reed's Transformer. Eric. Hillis. October 27, 2021.
  6. Web site: 10 Lou Reed Songs Better Than "Walk on the Wild Side". William. Tuttle. October 2, 2012. WhatCulture.com.
  7. Web site: Lou Reed: Taking a Walk on the Wild Side. KKBOX.
  8. News: The Life of a Song: 'Walk on the Wild Side' . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211181236/https://www.ft.com/content/b7d3069c-91e0-11e5-bd82-c1fb87bef7af . 2022-12-11 . subscription . live . David . Cheal . Financial Times . November 27, 2015 . 2019-11-12 .
  9. 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. 7 April 2011. Rolling Stone. 23 May 2019.
  10. Web site: Grammy Hall of Fame Letter W. Grammy. 21 January 2024.
  11. [Richard Flanagan]
  12. Book: Reed, Lou. Between Thought and Expression: Selected Lyrics of Lou Reed. 1991. Hyperion. 1-56282-923-8. 42. They were going to make a musical out of Nelson Algren's A Walk on the Wild Side. When they dropped the project I took my song and changed the book's characters into people I knew from Warhol's Factory..
  13. News: Simpson. Dave. Bet you think this song is about you. 4 April 2015. The Guardian. 12 December 2008.
  14. News: Moynihan. Colin. From the Archives, a Portrait of a Pop-Art Muse. The New York Times. 24 February 2009.
  15. Book: Candy Darling : memoirs of an Andy Warhol superstar. Darling, Candy. 2015. Open Road Integrated Media. 9781480407756. New York. 899942329.
  16. News: Joe D'Allesandro: The Warhol-Era Sex Symbol Talks. LA Weekly. 17 January 2014.
  17. News: Michael Hann . Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side: what became of Candy, Little Joe and co? . 12 November 2019 . . 8 December 2015.
  18. Web site: Klemm. Michael D.. Warhol On The Beach. CinemaQueer.com. 6 April 2015.
  19. Web site: Harvey Milk & Joe Campbell Residence – NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project .
  20. Web site: McCourt. James. Warhol's Brainy Goddess. Gay City News. 6 April 2015.
  21. Web site: Walk On The Wild Side Sheet Music . sheetmusicdirect.com . 2022-10-01.
  22. News: The little-known musicians behind some of music's most famous moments. Dave Simpson. The Guardian. 21 October 2014.
  23. News: Barton. Laura. Hail, Hail, Rock'n'Roll. The Guardian . 12 May 2011.
  24. Web site: Thunderthighs. AllMusic. 6 April 2015.
  25. News: Classic Tracks: Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wildside" - Mixonline. Ian Daley. 1 December 2008.
  26. Transformer. Lou Reed. 1972. RCA Records. CD booklet.
  27. Will Hodgkinson. In Perfect Harmony: Singalong Pop in '70s Britain (2022), p. 29.
  28. News: Trebay. Guy. The Real-Life Stories Told in 'Walk on the Wild Side'. The New York Times. 1 November 2013.
  29. Book: Bockris, Victor. Victor Bockris. Transformer: The Lou Reed Story. 1994. Simon & Schuster. 0-684-80366-6. 207. The impact of Transformer's sexual content has been forgotten. It is hard to conjure up the shock resulting from David Bowie's confession of bisexuality [in 1972].. registration.
  30. News: Cult musician Lou Reed who walked on wild side. Tony. Clayton-Lea. The Irish Times.
  31. Book: Whitburn, Joel . The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition . Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 523.
  32. Record World. February 3, 1973. 2023-03-24. Hits of the Week. 1.
  33. Web site: Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side - Hello, Big Apple. 30 August 2017 .
  34. Book: Levy, Aidan. Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed. October 1, 2015. Chicago Review Press. 9781613731093. Google Books.
  35. Web site: Ten things you never knew about Lou Reed. Clashmusic.com. 10 June 2011 . 6 April 2015.
  36. Web site: NME News Lou Reed to have posthumous hit with 'Walk On The Wild Side'? - NME.COM. 28 October 2013. Nme.com.
  37. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 249.
  38. Web site: Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada . Bac-lac.gc.ca . 2013-07-17. 2016-10-08.
  39. Web site: Archivio - Top Digital Download - Classifica settimanale WK 44 (dal 28-10-2013 al 03-11-2013). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. it. July 4, 2014. December 12, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131212022027/http://www.fimi.it/main/chart_id/1674.
  40. Web site: Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company. Officialcharts.com.
  41. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 2016-10-08.
  42. Web site: I giardini di Kensington di Patty Pravo 13-11-2020 Back2Back Rai Radio 2. it. RaiPlay Sound. RAI. 2020-11-13. 2024-05-21.
  43. Web site: JAMIE J. MORGAN | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company. Officialcharts.com.
  44. Web site: Australian-charts.com - Jamie J. Morgan - Walk On The Wild Side. Australian-charts.com.
  45. Web site: Charts.org.nz - Jamie J. Morgan - Walk On The Wild Side. Charts.nz.
  46. Web site: BEAT SYSTEM | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company. Officialcharts.com.
    Note: The band's name is sometimes given as "Beatsystem" or "BeatsystemUK". Not to be confused with the German band, Beat System.
  47. Web site: Metal Machine Music: The 10 Best Tracks That Sample Lou Reed's Songs . https://web.archive.org/web/20220525010720/https://www.vh1.com/news/nwkrfu/10-best-tracks-that-sample-lou-reed . live . May 25, 2022 . 2023-06-14 . www.vh1.com . en.
  48. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn

    . Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 . Joel Whitburn . 2013 . Record Research . 536.

  49. Web site: Generic submission: Walk on the Wild Side adaptated / sampled by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch SecondHandSongs . 2023-06-14 . secondhandsongs.com.
  50. https://www.whosampled.com/sample/120/A-Tribe-Called-Quest-Can-I-Kick-It%3F-Lou-Reed-Walk-on-the-Wild-Side Who Sampled: Can I Kick It?

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