Sterling Morrison (August 29, 1942 – August 30, 1995) was an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the rock group the Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and singing backing vocals. (More from Wikipedia)
When women started showing up in otherwise male rock bands, they were normally the lead singers; but after awhile, women were as often on the musician side as the vocalist side. The roster of the classic line-up of the Velvet Underground – Lou Reed (lead vocals, electric guitar), John Cale (multi-instrumentalist), Sterling Morrison (bass guitar, electric guitar), and Moe Tucker (drums) – makes it seem that this classic band was an all-male group like virtually every other rock band in the 1960’s.
Actually the drummer’s real name is Maureen Tucker; her approach as a percussionist was outside the norm to say the least. Quoting from Wikipedia: “Her abbreviated drum kit was rather unusual: She generally played on tom toms and an upturned bass drum, using mallets as often as drumsticks, and she rarely used cymbals. . . . When her drums were stolen from one club, she replaced them with garbage cans, brought in from outside.”
John Cale has also had an important impact on music following his time with the Velvet Underground, though mostly behind the scenes. Cale’s own solo albums are less well known and include collaborations with Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison.
(December 2013)
