The Velvet Underground, New York City, New York, United States, 1965-1973, 1990, 1992-1994, 1996.

The Velvet Underground

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This article is about the band. For their self-titled album, see The Velvet Underground (album). For the book, see The Velvet Underground (book).

The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground with Nico, 1966: (clockwise from top-left) Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, John Cale, Maureen Tucker, Nico
Background information
Also known as	The Warlocks, The Falling Spikes
Origin	New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Art rock, avant-garde, experimental rock, protopunk, psychedelic pop, folk rock
Years active	1965-1973, 1990, 1992-1994, 1996
Labels	Verve, MGM, Atlantic, Polydor, Mercury, Sire
Associated acts	Nico Theater of Eternal Music
Former members
Lou Reed John Cale Sterling Morrison Angus MacLise Maureen Tucker Doug Yule Walter Powers Willie Alexander

The Velvet Underground was an American experimental rock band formed in New York City, New York. First active from 1965 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although never commercially successful while together, the band is often cited by many critics as one of the most important and influential groups of their era and to many future musicians.^[1]

The Velvet Underground first gained a degree of fame and notoriety in New York City in 1966 when they were selected as the house band for Andy Warhol's Factory and his Exploding Plastic Inevitable events. The band's music and lyrics challenged conventional societal standards of the time, and broke ground for other musicians to do the same. The band favored experimentation, and also introduced a nihilistic outlook through some of their music.^[2][3] Their outsider attitude and experimentation has since been cited as pivotal to the rise of punk rock and, later, alternative rock.

Their 1967 debut album, titled The Velvet Underground & Nico (which featured German singer Nico, with whom the band collaborated) was named the 13th Greatest Album of All Time, and the "most prophetic rock album ever made" by Rolling Stone in 2003.^[4][5]