"Walk on the Wild Side" is a song by American rock musician Lou Reed from his second solo studio album, Transformer (1972). It was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson and released as a double A-side with "Perfect Day". Known as a counterculture anthem, the song received wide radio coverage and became Reed's biggest hit and signature song while touching on topics considered taboo at the time, such as transgender people, drugs, male prostitution, and oral sex. The song's lyrics, describing a series of individuals and their journeys to New York City, refer to several of the regular "superstars" at Andy Warhol's New York studio, the Factory; the song mentions Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis and Joe Campbell (referred to in the song by the nickname "Sugar Plum Fairy"). In 2013, The New York Times described "Walk on the Wild Side" as a "ballad of misfits and oddballs" that "became an unlikely cultural anthem, a siren song luring generations of people ... to a New York so long forgotten as to seem imaginary". In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked "Walk on the Wild Side" at number 223 in its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. In 2015, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Inspiration

In the 2001 documentary Classic Albums: Lou Reed: Transformer, Reed says that it was Nelson Algren's 1956 novel, A Walk on the Wild Side (itself titled after the 1952 song "The Wild Side of Life"), that was the launching point for the song, even though, as it grew, the song became inhabited by characters from his own life. As with several other Reed songs from the 1970s, the title may also be an allusion to an earlier song, in this case Mack David and Elmer Bernstein's "Walk on the Wild Side", the Academy Award-nominated title song performed by Brook Benton for the 1962 film based on Algren's novel. During his performance of the song on his 1978 Live: Take No Prisoners album, Reed humorously explains the song's development from a request that he write the music for the never-completed musical version of Algren's novel. Each verse refers to one of the "superstars" at Andy Warhol's New York studio, the Factory.

Musicians and musical elements

Like many of Reed's songs, "Walk on the Wild Side" is based on a simple chord progression alternating between C major and F major, or I and IV in harmonic analysis. The pre-chorus introduces the II chord (D major). The baritone saxophone solo played over the fadeout of the song is performed by Ronnie Ross, who had taught David Bowie to play the saxophone during Bowie's childhood. The backing vocals are sung by Thunderthighs, a vocal group that included Dari Lalou, Karen Friedman, and Casey Synge. Drums were played by Ritchie Dharma using brushes rather than drumsticks. David Bowie plays acoustic guitar on the track. The song is noted for its twinned ascending and descending portamento basslines played by Herbie Flowers. For performing the bass hook, on double bass overlaid with electric bass, Flowers was paid a session fee of £17.

Critical reception

The lyrics of "Walk on the Wild Side" were groundbreaking and risqué for their time, telling stories not usually told in rock songs up to then and containing references to prostitution, transgender people, and oral sex. "I always thought it would be kinda fun to introduce people to characters they maybe hadn't met before, or hadn't wanted to meet", Reed said. "Walk on the Wild Side" became a worldwide hit. The single peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts in early 1973. Record World called it a "real leftfielder from the former Velvet Undergrounder" and said that "programmers will be cautious at first but then will have to go with it". The term "colored girls" was an issue in the US. RCA in 1972 provided radio stations with a version without the reference to oral sex, and changing the line "colored girls" to "and the girls". However, most radio stations continued to play the original, uncensored version. In the UK, the oral sex reference slipped past the censors, who in 1972–73 were apparently unfamiliar with the term "giving head". In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it as the 223rd greatest song of all time. After the announcement of Reed's death in October 2013, both the song and the Transformer album re-charted via iTunes.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

In addition to the cover versions, Brazilian singer Cazuza mentioned "Walk on the Wild Side" in his 1985 song "Só as mães são felizes" ("Only mothers are happy"), from his debut solo career album Exagerado: the verse is "Você nunca viu Lou Reed walking on the wild side" ("You've never seen Lou Reed walking on the wild side").