Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed song)

"Walk on the Wild Side"
One of label variants of the US single
Single by Lou Reed
from the album Transformer
A-side"Perfect Day"
ReleasedNovember 24, 1972 (1972-11-24)
RecordedAugust 1972
StudioTrident (London, England)
Genre
Length4:12
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)Lou Reed
Producer(s)
Lou Reed singles chronology
"Walk and Talk It"
(1972) 		"Walk on the Wild Side"
(1972) 		"Satellite of Love"
(1973)
Official audio
"Lou Reed - Walk on the Wild Side" on YouTube

"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".[4] Known as a counterculture anthem,[5] the song received wide radio coverage[6][failed verification] and became Reed's biggest hit[7][8] and signature song[9] while touching on topics considered taboo at the time, such as transgender people, drugs, male prostitution, and oral sex.[10]

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".[7] In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked "Walk on the Wild Side" at number 223 in its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.[11]

In 2015, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[12]

  1. ^ Fleischmann, Mark and Ira Robbins. "Lou Reed". Trouser Press. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  2. ^ Pepinster, Catherine (August 15, 1998). "Gold Dust: Glam rock's top 10 singles". The Independent. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  3. ^ Potter, Jordan (December 20, 2023). "Far Out 40: The best songs of the glam-rock wave". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  4. ^ "The seven best covers of Lou Reed songs". August 26, 2021.
  5. ^ "Arctic Monkeys cover of Lou Reed's 'Walk on the Wild Side'". July 12, 2020.
  6. ^ Hillis, Eric (October 27, 2021). "The Classic Album at Midnight – Lou Reed's Transformer".
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Times was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Tuttle, William (October 2, 2012). "10 Lou Reed Songs Better Than "Walk on the Wild Side"". WhatCulture.
  9. ^ "Lou Reed: Taking a Walk on the Wild Side". KKBox.
  10. ^ Cheal, David (November 27, 2015). "The Life of a Song: 'Walk on the Wild Side'". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  11. ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Grammy Hall of Fame Letter W". Grammy. Retrieved 21 January 2024.