LOU REED: A Life, A Conversation With Anthony DeCurtis

In conjunction with the Oct. 10 release of his new book LOU REED: A Life, the GRAMMY Museum welcomes acclaimed Rolling Stone writer Anthony DeCurtis to the Clive Davis Theater for an intimate conversation on his provocative story of Lou Reed’s complex life. The Q&A will be moderated by GRAMMY Museum Foundation Executive Director Bob Santelli.

There are a lot of ways one can summarize Lou Reed, one of the most important musicians of the 20th century. But Reed, lead singer and songwriter for the Velvet Underground and a renowned solo artist, was also a man of innumerable contradictions. He violated all definitions of genre while speaking to millions of fans and inspiring generations of musicians. His life was a transformer’s odyssey. He was fiercely independent yet afraid of being alone, artistically fearless yet deeply paranoid, eager for commercial success yet disdainful of his own triumphs. He reinvented his persona, his sound, even his sexuality, time and again. And he was well known for not having the smoothest relationship with journalists. Though, as the man himself said in 2012: “People always say to me, ‘Why don’t you get along with critics?’ I tell them, ‘I get along fine with Anthony DeCurtis.’ Shuts them right up.” With unparalleled access to dozens of Reed’s friends, family, and collaborators, DeCurtis tracks his subject’s five-decade career through the accounts of those who knew him and through that most revealing testimony, his music.

This program is free. GRAMMY Museum Members receive priority seating. Click here to RSVP.

Author Anthony DeCurtis