Lou Reed killed by liver disease
Lou Reed succumbed to liver disease at his home in Long Island, New York, according to the late rocker's doctor.
The former Velvet Underground frontman died on Sunday (27Oct13) after battling poor health for months.
Dr. Charles Miller, who performed a liver transplant on Reed at the
Cleveland Clinic in April (13), tells the New York Times that the
rocker returned to Ohio last week (bes21Oct13) for further
treatment.
The medic told Reed his condition could no longer be treated, and
the singer/songwriter opted to return to the home he shared with
his wife Laurie Anderson.
The doctor says, "We all agreed that we did everything we
could."
Tributes from the music world have been pouring in for Reed since
news of his death was released. Blondie stars Debbie Harry and
Chris Stein and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne added their
thoughts about the rock star in statements on Monday (28Oct13).
Harry wrote, "I'm so sad that he's gone but his hypnotic voice
telling a story of a Perfect Day, or the devil let loose in White
Light/White Heat will live forever."
Her bandmate Stein added, "Lou was one of a handful of originals. I
don't think that the conditions that created him will again even be
approximated, let alone duplicated."
And Byrne stated, "His work and that of the Velvets was a big
reason I moved to NY and I don't think I'm alone there. We wanted
to be in a city that nurtured and fed that kind of talent."