Lou Reed's Rock and Roll Heart Honored on PBS and in Freeport Vigil
Following the death of Lou Reed on Sunday, PBS and THIRTEEN’s American Masters series will honor the rock legend and Hamptons resident with a special in memoriam broadcast of the 1998 documentary Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart. The first broadcast will be on PBS stations nationwide beginning tomorrow, Thursday, October 31 at 10 p.m.
The film will then air on select PBS stations through November 7, including New York metro area broadcasts on Monday, November 4 at 9 p.m. and Tuesday, November 5 at 3:25 a.m. on THIRTEEN.
Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders told PBS, “Lou Reed music was the backbeat to our lives and his lyrics were our conscience. His death is a blow, not only to New York City, but also to the world.”
Reed, who was born in Freeport on March 2, 1942, died at his home in Amagansett after suffering complications from a liver transplant.
Watch the first nine minutes of the PBS documentary Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart below.
The Village of Freeport in Nassau County held a candlelight vigil and memorial tribute to Reed on Wednesday afternoon, October 30. Freeport Village Mayor Robert Kennedy and Nassau County Legislator Dave Denenberg hosted a luncheon and vigil with family, friends, fans and local musicians in tribute to the Velvet Underground founder, who grew up in Freeport and graduated from Freeport High School in 1959. There was a performance in his honor at the ceremony.
Lou Reed was a unique voice in rock and roll, as well as a true artist and lover of the arts. He sold millions of records, but also participated in many small projects purely out of an enduring passion for visual art, literature, music and the avant-garde. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
Hear the PBS American Masters Lou Reed playlist below to understand his greatness and honor his memory.