Lou Reed (March 2, 1942 - October 27, 2013) was an American rock artist originally from Brooklyn, New York, USA. Especially while a member of the The Velvet Underground in the 1960s, Reed broke new ground for the rock genre in several important dimensions, introducing more mature and intellectual themes to what was then considered a largely simplistic genre of music. In 1964 Reed moved to New York City and began working as an in-house songwriter for Pickwick Records.