I Heard Her Call My Name
Encyclopedia
"I Heard Her Call My Name" is a song by American
avant-garde
rock
band The Velvet Underground
. It is the fifth track from the band's second album, White Light/White Heat
. It is a particularly loud, brash and aggressive song that features a pair of atonal guitar solos performed by Lou Reed
and repeated use of piercing feedback. The heavy levels of guitar distortion
is often said to have influenced punk music and heavy metal
. Indeed, Zyklon-B Zombie by Throbbing Gristle
uses the same rhythm and high levels of distortion, complete with the line "And then my mind split open!"
Reed's vocals are especially unintelligible and enthusiastic. He further accents his lyrics by singing them in a purposely off-key voice, often adding exclamations of "eehee!" and the like.
In their biography Uptight, the band claimed they were unhappy with the recording of "I Heard Her Call My Name", saying that the recording was a poor attempt to capture the energy of live versions of the song.
The lyrics show the influence of the blues, including the lyrics of the Son House recording "Death Letter" from the 1965 album Father of Folk Blues, which features phrases such as "the gal you love is dead" and "I thought I heard her call my name."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
. It is the fifth track from the band's second album, White Light/White Heat
White Light/White Heat
The album briefly appeared on the Billboard 200, although only peaking at number 199. Despite its poor sales, the distorted, feedback-driven, and roughly recorded sound on White Light/White Heat became a notable influence on punk and experimental rock...
. It is a particularly loud, brash and aggressive song that features a pair of atonal guitar solos performed by Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
and repeated use of piercing feedback. The heavy levels of guitar distortion
Distortion (guitar)
Distortion effects create "warm", "dirty" and "fuzzy" sounds by compressing the peaks of a musical instrument's sound wave and adding overtones. The three principal types of distortion effects are overdrive, distortion and fuzz. Distortion effects are sometimes called “gain” effects, as distorted...
is often said to have influenced punk music and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. Indeed, Zyklon-B Zombie by Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
uses the same rhythm and high levels of distortion, complete with the line "And then my mind split open!"
Reed's vocals are especially unintelligible and enthusiastic. He further accents his lyrics by singing them in a purposely off-key voice, often adding exclamations of "eehee!" and the like.
In their biography Uptight, the band claimed they were unhappy with the recording of "I Heard Her Call My Name", saying that the recording was a poor attempt to capture the energy of live versions of the song.
The lyrics show the influence of the blues, including the lyrics of the Son House recording "Death Letter" from the 1965 album Father of Folk Blues, which features phrases such as "the gal you love is dead" and "I thought I heard her call my name."
Personnel
- Lou ReedLou ReedLewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
- lead vocals, lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - Sterling MorrisonSterling MorrisonHolmes Sterling Morrison, Jr. was one of the founding members of the rock group The Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and singing backing vocals.-Biography:...
- rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, backing vocals - John CaleJohn CaleJohn Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Maureen TuckerMaureen TuckerMaureen Ann "Moe" Tucker is a musician best known for having been the drummer for the rock group The Velvet Underground.- The Velvet Underground :...
- percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...