The iconic songwriter Lou Reed would have been 75 years old this week, and it’s a fitting celebration to hear that a collection of his recordings, personal items, and even his record collection are set to be unveiled to the public.
As NPR reports, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts will host Lou’s personal archives, which feature thousands of hours of audio and video, and countless documents and photographs, including birthday cards and pictures of his dogs. It’s a treasure trove for any Lou Reed fan, but it’s the unreleased recordings that are potentially the most exciting.
Archivist Don Fleming, who is supervising the restoration, described some of the rareties on offer, which span back to Lou’s earliest days.
“One of the things they found was a tape from the early ’60s, which seems to be Lou with one of his high school bands rehearsing for the variety show,” he says. “And just following that is Lou playing Bob Dylan songs.”
The huge array of legal documents and contracts is also said to paint a detailed picture of how Reed’s career progressed, and also how the music industry itself changed over those decades, while the personal affects provide more personal insight into a sometimes misunderstood figure.
The complete archive will be released to the public later this year.
