“Walk on the Wild Side,” today’s classic song of the day, was more than a little bit controversial in its day. Probably still is today, for that matter.
Lou Reed wrote “Walk on the Wild Side” about various individuals he knew in the New York City underground scene, specifically a handful of regulars at Andy Warhol’s studio, the Factory. The individuals include:
- “Holly,” who “shaved her legs and then was a he,” is based on Holly Woodlawn, a transgender actress who lived in Miami Beach, Florida as a child.
- “Candy,” who “never lost her head even when she was giving head,” is based on Candy Darling, another transgender actress who grew up on Long Island (“the island”) and was a regular at “the back room” of Max’s Kansas City.
- “Little Joe,” who “never once gave it away,” was the nickname of Joe Dallesandro, an actor who starred in Andy Warhol’s 1968 film Flesh, about a teenage hustler.
- “Sugar Plum Fairy,” who “went to the Apollo, you should have seen him go, go go,” is a reference to actor Joe Campbell, who played a character by that name in Warhol’s 1965 film, My Hustler. (FYI, the term “sugar plum fairy” was a slang term for “drug dealer.”).
- “Jackie,” who “thought she was James Dean for a day,” is based on Jackie Curtis, another Warhol actress.
An interesting bunch of characters, to be sure.
The controversary came from featuring hustlers and trans people in the lyrics, and also from talking about drug use and sexual acts. (That whole “giving head” thing.) That caused some radio stations to not play the song, as well as to force RCA Victor Records to release a version that omitted the reference to oral sex and the “colored girls” who say “Doo, do-doo, do-doo, do-do-doo.”
Content and controversary aside, “Walk the Wild Side” was a big hit when it was released in late November of 1972. It peaked, early the next year, at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #17 on the Cash Box Top 100. It actually cracked the top ten in the UK.
I think “Walk on the Wild Side” is a great piece of music. I particularly like the parts that nobody else but me, probably, notice, like the melodic string backing in the third, fourth, and fifth verses and the dual ascending/descending bass lines played by Herbie Flowers. Then there’s Ronnie Ross’ bari sax solo at the end, which ties it all up in a nice little bow. For such a neo-punkish track, it’s very well produced. (David Bowie and Mick Ronson shared the producer credit on this one.)
And the colored girls go…
