The Velvet Underground

Lou Reed's father was a tax accountant, who raised him with the expectation that he would take over the family business. When little Lou turned out to be more of a handful than they'd bargained for, his parents signed their son over to the Creedmore State Psychiatric Hospital, where Lou Reed suffered eight weeks of electroshock therapy at the age of 17.

Along with his other activities at Syracuse University, Lou Reed hosted his own college radio show.

John Cale's mentor at the University of London was Cornelius Cardew, a pivotal person in introducing avant-garde music to the US. He died in 1981, the victim of a hit-and-run car accident near his London home. At least one colleague has raised the possibility that he was assassinated because of his prominent Marxist-Leninist involvement.