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The Velvet Underground & Nico
last updated 2026-09-11 11:26
The Velvet Underground & Nico
Plays on LTZ: (historical total not available beyond this vault's episode folders)
Tracks played
Sunday Morning — played 2026-03-12
Research
The Velvet Underground & Nico — Sunday Morning
Played: 2026-03-12 (WDIB)
Opening track on the self-titled album, released March 1967 (as a single in December 1966) on Verve Records. The last song recorded for the album, added at the request of producer Tom Wilson who wanted a potential single. Written by Lou Reed and John Cale on a Sunday morning, originally intended for Nico to sing, but Reed took the lead vocal at the last minute. John Cale spotted a celesta in the studio and added it, creating the track's signature sound. Andy Warhol suggested the paranoia theme. Brian Eno famously said everyone who bought one of the album's 30,000 first-year copies started a band.
The Velvet Underground & Nico
Origin: New York City, USA · formed 1964, this lineup/album 1967 · one-off album-era collaboration (Nico departed after touring the record)
Members: Lou Reed (lead guitar, vocals), John Cale (electric viola, bass, keyboards), Sterling Morrison (rhythm guitar, bass), Maureen "Moe" Tucker (percussion), Nico (German singer/model, lead vocals on three tracks, backing on another — added to the lineup by Andy Warhol and manager Paul Morrissey for the 1967 debut LP)
Genre: Art rock, proto-punk, experimental rock, avant-pop, garage rock
Discography:
The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) — Verve Records — produced (credited) by Andy Warhol; commercial flop on release, now regarded as one of the most influential albums in rock history
Facts:
Warhol's producer credit was largely nominal — he financed and oversaw the sessions but left the actual engineering to Norman Dolph and Tom Wilson.
The iconic peelable banana cover art required a specially designed sticker-manufacturing process, delaying the album's release.