I'm Waiting For The Man

The Velvet Underground recorded “I’m Waiting for the Man” in May 1966 at TTG Studios in Hollywood during the sessions for The Velvet Underground & Nico. Lou Reed wrote the song, Andy Warhol was credited as producer, and the recording centred on Reed’s lead vocal, pounding piano, clipped guitars and Maureen Tucker’s driving rhythm. Released by Verve in 1967 on The Velvet Underground & Nico, it became one of the album’s starkest depictions of New York street life and drug culture. Its blunt lyric, hard piano pulse and abrasive minimalism helped define the band’s break with mid-1960s pop conventions. The track remains one of the Velvet Underground’s signature recordings and a foundational influence on punk, art rock and alternative music. Its later covers and repeated critical placement have kept it central to Lou Reed’s reputation as a writer of unsentimental urban realism.