Hey Babe Take a Walk on the Wild Side

1972 single by Lou Reed

1972 single by Lou Reed

"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"
Released	November 24, 1972 (1972-11-24)
Recorded	August 1972
Studio	Trident, London
Genre	Glam rock[1] [2]
Length	4:12
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	Lou Reed
Producer(s)	David Bowie Mick Ronson
Lou Reed singles chronology
"Walk and Talk It" (1972) "Walk on the Wild Side" (1972) "Satellite of Love" (1973)

"Walk on the Wild Side" is a song by Lou Reed from his second solo 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] [7]} and signature song^[8] despite touching on taboo topics such as transgender people, drugs, male prostitution, and oral sex.^[9]

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".^[6] In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked "Walk on the Wild Side" at number 223 in its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.^[10]

Inspiration [edit]

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.^{[ original research? ]} During his performance of the song on his 1978 Live: Take No Prisoners 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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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

• "Holly" is based on Holly Woodlawn, a transgender actress who lived in Miami Beach, Florida as a child. In 1962, after being bullied by homophobes, the fifteen-year-old ran away from home; and, as in the lyrics, learned how to pluck her eyebrows while hitchhiking to New York.^[13]
• "Candy" is based on Candy Darling, a transgender actress and the subject of an earlier song by Lou Reed, "Candy Says". She grew up on Long Island ("the island") and was a regular at "the back room" of Max's Kansas City.^{[14] [15]}
• "Little Joe" was the nickname of Joe Dallesandro, an actor who starred in Flesh, a 1968 film about a teenage hustler. Dallesandro said in 2014 that he had not yet met Reed when the song was written, and that the lyrics were based on the film character, not himself personally.^[16]
• "Sugar Plum Fairy" has been described as a reference to actor Joe Campbell, who played a character by that name in Warhol's 1965 film, My Hustler.^[17] The term was a euphemism for "drug dealer".^[18] "Sugar Plum Fairy" may have been a composite of a number of drug dealers in the Warhol superstars circle.^[19]
• "Jackie" is based on Jackie Curtis, another Warhol actress. "Speeding" and "crashing" are drug references. Curtis at one time hoped to play the role of James Dean in a movie; Dean was killed in a car crash.^[20]

Musicians and musical elements [edit]

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, [D minor].^[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]

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.^{[ citation needed ]} Flowers's bass hook was performed on double bass overlaid by fretless Fender Jazz Bass. He was paid a £17 flat fee (equivalent to £200 in 2019).^{[26] [22]}

Reception [edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2021)

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.^[6] "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.^[27] "Walk on the Wild Side" became a worldwide hit.^[28] The single peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts in early 1973.^[29]

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".^[30] However, most radio stations continued to play the original, uncensored version.^[31] In the UK, the oral sex reference slipped past the censors, who in 1972-73 were apparently unfamiliar with the term "giving head".^[32]

In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it as the 223rd greatest song of all time.^[10] After the announcement of Reed's death in October 2013, both the song and the Transformer album re-charted via iTunes.^[33]

Charts and certifications [edit]

Cover versions [edit]

In 1990, English musician Jamie J. Morgan released his version of "Walk on the Wild Side". It peaked at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart,^[52] number 25 in Australia,^[53] and was a number one hit in New Zealand.^[54]

Also in 1990, British dance act Beat System's cover of the song reached number 63 on the UK Singles Chart.^[55]

In 1991, American group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, fronted by actor/musician Mark Wahlberg released the single "Wildside", which heavily samples and is stylistically similar to Reed's original version.^{[ citation needed ]} The song reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[56] and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.^{[ citation needed ]}

See also [edit]

• Can I Kick It?

References [edit]

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. ^ "The seven best covers of Lou Reed songs". August 26, 2021.
4. ^ "Arctic Monkeys cover of Lou Reed's 'Walk on the Wild Side'". July 12, 2020.
5. ^ Hillis, Eric (October 27, 2021). "The Classic Album at Midnight – Lou Reed's Transformer".
6. ^ ^{a b c} Trebay, Guy (1 November 2013). "The Real-Life Stories Told in 'Walk on the Wild Side'". The New York Times.
7. ^ Tuttle, William (October 2, 2012). "10 Lou Reed Songs Better Than "Walk on the Wild Side"". WhatCulture.com.
8. ^ "Lou Reed: Taking a Walk on the Wild Side". KKBOX.
9. ^ Cheal, David (November 27, 2015). "The Life of a Song: 'Walk on the Wild Side'".
10. ^ ^{a b} "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
11. ^ Richard Flanagan, "Prophet of the neon wilderness", The Sunday Telegraph, January 29, 2006 (reprinted as "Introduction", dated "October 2005", in the novel's digital edition, Canongate Books, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84767-649-8): 'As Algren admitted, the book "wasn't written until long after it had been walked… I found my way to the streets on the other side of the Southern Pacific station, where the big jukes were singing something called 'Walking the Wild Side of Life.' I've stayed pretty much on that side of the curb ever since." '
12. ^ Reed, Lou (1991). Between Thought and Expression: Selected Lyrics of Lou Reed. Hyperion. p. 42. ISBN1-56282-923-8. 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. ^ Simpson, Dave (12 December 2008). "Bet you think this song is about you". The Guardian . Retrieved 4 April 2015.
14. ^ Moynihan, Colin (24 February 2009). "From the Archives, a Portrait of a Pop-Art Muse". The New York Times.
15. ^ 1944-1974, Darling, Candy (2015). Candy Darling : memoirs of an Andy Warhol superstar. New York: Open Road Integrated Media. ISBN9781480407756. OCLC 899942329. CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
16. ^ "Joe Dallesandro: The Warhol-Era Sex Symbol Talks". LA Weekly. 17 January 2014.
17. ^ Michael Hann (8 December 2015). "Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side: what became of Candy, Little Joe and co?". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
18. ^ Klemm, Michael D. "Warhol On The Beach". CinemaQueer.com . Retrieved 6 April 2015.
19. ^ David Cheal (November 28, 2015). "The Life of a Song: 'Walk on the Wild Side'". Financial Times . Retrieved 12 November 2019.
20. ^ McCourt, James. "Warhol's Brainy Goddess". Gay City News . Retrieved 6 April 2015.
21. ^ "Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side (ver 3) Chords". Bigchords.com . Retrieved 2012-11-16 .
22. ^ ^{a b} Dave Simpson (21 October 2014). "The little-known musicians behind some of music's most famous moments". The Guardian.
23. ^ Barton, Laura (12 May 2011). "Hail, Hail, Rock'n'Roll". The Guardian.
24. ^ "Thunderthighs". AllMusic . Retrieved 6 April 2015.
25. ^ Ian Daley (1 December 2008). "Classic Tracks: Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wildside" - Mixonline".
26. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved February 2, 2020.
27. ^ Bockris, Victor (1994). Transformer: The Lou Reed Story . Simon & Schuster. p. 207. ISBN0-684-80366-6. 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].
28. ^ Clayton-Lea, Tony. "Cult musician Lou Reed who walked on wild side". The Irish Times.
29. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 523.
30. ^ "Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side - Hello, Big Apple".
31. ^ Levy, Aidan (October 1, 2015). "Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed". Chicago Review Press – via Google Books.
32. ^ "Ten things you never knew about Lou Reed". Clashmusic.com . Retrieved 6 April 2015.
33. ^ "NME News Lou Reed to have posthumous hit with 'Walk On The Wild Side'? - NME.COM". Nme.com. 28 October 2013.
34. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 249. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
35. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2016-10-08 .
36. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Walk on the Wild Side". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
37. ^ "Lou Reed – Walk on the Wild Side" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
38. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
39. ^ "Lou Reed Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
40. ^ "Lou Reed – Walk on the Wild Side" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
41. ^ "Lou Reed – Walk on the Wild Side" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
42. ^ "Lou Reed – Walk on the Wild Side" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
43. ^ "Archivio - Top Digital Download - Classifica settimanale WK 44 (dal 28-10-2013 al 03-11-2013)" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
44. ^ "Lou Reed Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
45. ^ "Lou Reed – Walk on the Wild Side" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
46. ^ "Lou Reed – Walk on the Wild Side". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
47. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com.
48. ^ "Lou Reed Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
49. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca . Retrieved 2016-10-08 .
50. ^ "Italian single certifications – Lou Reed – Walk on the Wild Side" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved November 9, 2020. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Walk on the Wild Side" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
51. ^ "British single certifications – Lou Reed – Walk on the Wild Side". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
52. ^ "JAMIE J. MORGAN | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com.
53. ^ "Australian-charts.com - Jamie J. Morgan - Walk On The Wild Side". Australian-charts.com.
54. ^ "Charts.org.nz - Jamie J. Morgan - Walk On The Wild Side". Charts.nz.
55. ^ "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.
56. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 536.

Further reading [edit]

• Jones, Josh (December 7, 2017). "Meet the Characters Immortalized in Lou Reed's 'Walk on the Wild Side': The Stars and Gay Rights Icons from Andy Warhol's Factory Scene". Open Culture.

External links [edit]

• Lyrics of this song
• Lou Reed - Walk on the Wild Side on YouTube

Hey Babe Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk_on_the_Wild_Side_(Lou_Reed_song)