John Davies Cale, OBE (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band the Velvet Underground.
Though best known for his work in rock music, Cale has worked in various genres including drone and classical, and studied music at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Since departing from the Velvet Underground in 1968 he has released approximately 30 albums. Of his solo work, Cale is perhaps best known for his album Paris 1919, and his cover version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", plus his mid-1970s Island Records trilogy of albums: Fear, Slow Dazzle, and Helen of Troy.
Cale has produced or collaborated with Lou Reed, Nico, La Monte Young, John Cage, Terry Riley, Hector Zazou, Cranes, Nick Drake, Mike Heron, Kevin Ayers, Brian Eno, Patti Smith, The Stooges, Lio, The Modern Lovers, Art Bergmann, Manic Street Preachers and frontman James Dean Bradfield, Super Furry Animals, Marc Almond, Element of Crime, Squeeze, Happy Mondays, LCD Soundsystem, The Replacements, and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Cale was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as member of the Velvet Underground in 1996, and appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2010.
Instrument(s)
- Singin'
- Bass
- Viola
- Organ
- Piano
- Harpsichord
- Keyboards
Genre(s)
- Proto-Punk
- Experimental
- Art Rock
Label(s)
- Columbia
- Reprise
- Island
- Universal
- Spy
- A&M
- Rhino
- Mango
- Beggars Banquet
- Opal
- Sire
- ROIR
- Hannibal
- Crepuscule
- Elektra
- Asylum
- Detour
- Table Of The Elements
- Astralwerks
- EMI
- All Saints
- Illegal
- Or.
RIYL
- Tom Waits
- Captain Beefheart
- David Bowie (early)
Member of
Has Notably Worked with
- The Dream Syndicate
- The Primitives
- The Velvets
- The Stooges
- Nico
- Nick Drake
- Terry Riley
- Lou Reed
- Brian Eno
- The Modern Lovers
- Squeeze
- Patty Smith
- Sham 69
Musician Biography
Known by some as that other Velvet with a solo career, Mr. Cale is perhaps one of the most underrated artists of his generation, perhaps because most of the attention seems to be paid to his more famous counterpart, Lou Reed.
Discography
Albums
- Vintage Violence
- Church Of Anthrax (with Terry Riley)
- The Academy In Peril
- Paris 1919
- Fear
- Slow Dazzle
- Helen Of Troy
- Honi Soit
- Music For A New Society
- Caribbean Sunset
- Artificial Intelligence
- Words For The Dying
- Songs For Drella (with Lou Reed)
- Fragments Of A Rainy Season
- Walking On Locusts
- Nico
- HoboSapiens
- Black Acetate
EPs
- Animal Justice
- 5 Tracks
Singles
- Things / Things X
- Perfect