Even though the American rock band, The Velvet Underground, only sold 30,000 copies, it is still it is considered the most influential rock group until today. Formed in New York City by Lou Reed and John Cale, the inception of Rock music began when The Velvet Underground recorded their first song. They set the foundation for that perverse, pessimistic rock which eventually turned into ‘punk.’ The velvet underground got its name from the novel by Michael Leigh, which was about the sexual subculture of the 1960’s.

In 1965 Andy Warhol became the bands manager, where they became part of his show “The Exploding Plastic Inevitable.” As per Warhol’s suggestion the band recorded a few songs with Nico in their debut album, The Velvet Underground and Nico. This album ‘’featured their song- I’ll Be Your Mirror, a tender and slow song sung by Nico. I’ll be your mirror contrasts greatly with a lot of the velvet undergrounds other dark, more perverse music. The Velvet underground was greatly under appreciated in the era they lived in. They were “a black stain on the prevailing flower power, all-you-need-is-love era.”[1] Patti Smith inducted The Velvet Underground into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

1. Kot, Greg. “The Velvet Underground: As Influential as the Beatles?” BBC, BBC (25 Nov. 2013)