Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed (born March 2, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. Reed was born into a Jewish family (originally Rabinowitz) in Brooklyn, and grew up in Freeport, New York. Reed, adding Reed's college acquaintance Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker, formed The Velvet Underground. Though internally unstable and never commercially viable, the band has a long-standing reputation as one of the most influential underground bands in rock history. After quitting the Velvet Underground in 1970, Reed went on a solo career.