Douglas Alan Yule (born February 25, 1947) is an American
musician
A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...
and
singer
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...
, most notable for being a member of
the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
from 1968 to 1973, serving as the bassist, guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist.
Biography
Early life
Doug Yule was born in
Mineola, Long Island, New York, and grew up in
Great Neck
Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Poin ...
with five sisters and a younger brother. As a child he took piano and
baritone horn
The baritone horn, sometimes called baritone, is 3 or 4 valved tenor-voiced brass instrument in the saxhorn family.Robert Donington, "The Instruments of Music", (pp. 113ff ''The Family of Bugles'') 2nd ed., Methuen, London, 1962 It is a pist ...
lessons. He later said in an interview that he would have preferred violin lessons, but the violin had to be rented and the baritone horn was available free of charge.
In high school he played the tuba, as well as the guitar and the banjo, and sang in the church choir.
According to Yule he first got involved in music when at a show for the band
The Barbarians and they didn't show up so him and his friends began jamming. "...In Boston, the Barbarians. And my roommate and I and a couple of other people got dragged down there, and the Barbarians didn’t show up, but we started playing with their instruments and eventually wound up in a band, and that’s kind of the way I got into rock and roll."
In 1965–66 he attended
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
, where he studied acting.
In Boston he met
Walter Powers and
Willie Alexander
Willie "Loco" Alexander (born January 13, 1943) is an American singer and keyboardist based in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
He played with the Lost, the Bagatelle and the Grass Menagerie, before becoming a member of the Velvet Underground in lat ...
of the Grass Menagerie. In 1966–67, he played with the Grass Menagerie and other bands in New York, California, and Boston.
The Velvet Underground
1968–1970
Yule first met the Velvet Underground at his River Street apartment in Boston, which he rented from their road manager, Hans Onsager, and where the band would sometimes stay when they played in the city. Yule's improving guitar technique caught the ear of
Sterling Morrison
Holmes Sterling Morrison Jr. (August 29, 1942 – August 30, 1995) was an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the rock band the Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and ...
.
[Jovanovic, pp. 126–27]
When
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...
left the Velvet Underground at the behest of
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
in 1968, Yule joined the band (then consisting of Reed, Morrison and
Maureen "Moe" Tucker) as Cale's replacement. Yule made his first studio appearance on their third album, ''
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
'' (1969), playing bass and organ. As well as singing lead vocals on the
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
"Candy Says", which opens the album, he harmonizes with Reed on "Jesus" and co-sings the chorus of the album's penultimate track, "The Murder Mystery", with Maureen Tucker.
His contribution to the LP was considerable, and his vocals would later come in handy on the road. When Reed's voice became strained from touring, Yule would sing lead on several songs. While Cale had been a more experimental bass player, Yule was considered more technically proficient on the instrument and his distinct melodic style suited Reed's desire to move the band into a more mainstream direction.
Yule's role became even more prominent on the band's fourth album, ''
Loaded'' (1970), singing lead vocals on "Who Loves the Sun", "
New Age
New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
", "Lonesome Cowboy Bill", and ", and playing six instruments, including keyboard and drums.
Yule's brother
Billy
Billy may refer to:
* Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name)
* Billy (surname), a surname (and list of people with the surname)
Animals
* Billy (dog), a dog breed
* Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945
* Billy ( ...
also joined in on the sessions as a drummer when regular drummer Maureen Tucker was pregnant and therefore absent for most of the recording. His lead vocals can also be heard on the song "Ride Into the Sun", which was featured on the ''Fully Loaded'' CD reissue of ''Loaded '' that was released in 1997.
1970–73 (''Loaded'' tour and final Velvet Underground shows)
Lou Reed left the Velvet Underground during their summer residency at the New York club
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists, and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Dece ...
in August 1970. With band manager
Steve Sesnick looking to fill pending bookings, and with the upcoming release of ''
Loaded'' in November of that year, Yule, Tucker and Morrison decided to continue performing as the Velvet Underground to promote the album. Yule took over lead vocals and switched his main instrument from bass to guitar, and
Walter Powers was recruited as the Velvets' new bass guitarist. Following the release of ''Loaded'' in Europe in the spring of 1971, Morrison left the group in August to resume his academic studies in Texas, and was replaced by
Willie Alexander
Willie "Loco" Alexander (born January 13, 1943) is an American singer and keyboardist based in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
He played with the Lost, the Bagatelle and the Grass Menagerie, before becoming a member of the Velvet Underground in lat ...
on keyboards. Alexander, Powers and Tucker left the Velvets in late 1972 after being forced out by manager Steve Sesnick prior to a handful of European shows to promote ''
Loaded'' in Europe. With no original band members left, and with a group of quickly assembled musicians, Yule played the final shows as the Velvet Underground in 1972. With
Ian Paice
Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician who is the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He remains the only member of Deep Purple who has served in every line-up since the band's incep ...
of
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
and some session musicians, Yule recorded the album ''
Squeeze'' in late 1972. It was released in February 1973, and is in essence a Doug Yule solo album, though presented as a Velvet Underground album due to band manager Steve Sesnick's contractual agreement with Polydor, and due to the success of ''
Live at Max's Kansas City'', which had received positive reviews the previous year. After two final shows in early 1973 (billed by the promoter as "The Velvet Underground", against Yule's wishes), the band was officially retired.
Lou Reed session work (1974–1976)
In 1974 Reed contacted Yule to contribute a melodic bass track on his solo album ''
Sally Can't Dance
''Sally Can't Dance'' is the fourth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in September 1974 by RCA Records. Steve Katz and Reed produced the album. It remains Reed's highest-charting album in the United States, having p ...
'' (1974),
on the song "Billy", which closes the album, and Yule joined Reed's band for the subsequent US and European tour as his guitar player. Following the tour the band dissolved, but Yule was called back by Reed in 1975 to record several guitar and bass tracks for his upcoming album ''
Coney Island Baby'', the 30th anniversary re-issue of which includes the bonus tracks that feature Yule on bass and guitar.
1976–1978 (Elliott Murphy, American Flyer and hiatus from music)
In early 1976 Yule played guitar on ''Night Lights'' (1976) by
Elliott Murphy
Elliott James Murphy (born March 16, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, record producer, and journalist.
Biography
Elliott Murphy was born in Rockville Centre, New York, grew up in Garden City, Long Island and began playi ...
, and joined the band
American Flyer
American Flyer is a brand of toy train and Rail transport modelling, model railroad, originally manufactured in the United States.
The Chicago era, 1907–1938
Although best remembered for the S gauge trains of the 1950s that it made as a ...
later that year as their drummer and background singer.
American Flyer
American Flyer is a brand of toy train and Rail transport modelling, model railroad, originally manufactured in the United States.
The Chicago era, 1907–1938
Although best remembered for the S gauge trains of the 1950s that it made as a ...
was an active
country rock
Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...
band from 1976 to 1978, and the band also featured the guitarist
Steve Katz of
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. BS&T has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and ...
. After securing a major-label contract with
United Artists
United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
, and managing to interest
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...
enough to bring him on board as their producer, American Flyer's debut album ''American Flyer'' debuted at #87 on the
Billboard Top 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular Album, music albums and extended play, EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an recor ...
, and they even scored a minor hit with their single "Let Me Down Easy" which debuted at #80 in 1976.
Despite the promise showed on their first album, their follow-up album ''Spirit of a Woman'' failed to chart as high, and did not carry the momentum the label expected, and the band decided to fold.
After American Flyer disbanded, Yule retired from doing music full-time, and became a cabinetmaker and a luthier of violins.
1990–present
When the Velvet Underground reformed in early 1993,
Sterling Morrison
Holmes Sterling Morrison Jr. (August 29, 1942 – August 30, 1995) was an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the rock band the Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and ...
had campaigned for Yule's involvement, but
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
and
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...
ultimately overruled him, thus leaving Yule off the band's six-week reunion tour of Europe, and the subsequent live album ''
Live MCMXCIII''. Following the continual interest in
the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
, and partly due to the publicity of the band's released box set ''
Peel Slowly and See'' in 1995, Yule, who had by then moved to the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
, returned to public life, again giving interviews to journalists and various fanzines about his time in the Velvet Underground.
He also wrote an
obituary
An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...
for Sterling Morrison, who had died in 1995.
Yule was not included along with the original line-up for the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
when the Velvet Underground were inducted in 1996. However, Yule remains a member of the Velvet business partnership, and continued to give the occasional interview about his time in the group. After having taken up the
violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
, Yule began to record music again in 1997.
A song called "Beginning To Get It" appeared on the benefit compilation ''
A Place to Call Home'' in 1998.
He played some concerts in 2000, while the live album ''Live in Seattle'' was released in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
in 2002. He featured on Tucker's live album ''
Moe Rocks Terrastock''.
On August 31, 2006, Yule performed for the first time in public in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in over 30 years with
Mark Gardener
Mark Stephen Gardener (born 6 December 1969) is an English rock musician, best known for being one of two singer-guitarists for the shoegaze band Ride.
Career
Ride
Gardener formed Ride with Andy Bell (guitarist), whom he met at Chen ...
of
Ride
Ride may refer to:
People
* MC Ride, a member of Death Grips
* Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut
* William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Ride'' (1998 film), a comedy film by Millicen ...
at
Pianos
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal tempe ...
. On December 8, 2009, he appeared with Reed and Tucker at the
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
, to commemorate the publishing of ''The Velvet Underground – New York Art'', a collection of rare photographs of the band's first performance in New York City to
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
's cover designs. They conducted a Q&A with a sold-out live audience, and
David Fricke
David Fricke (born ) is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 ye ...
acted as moderator to the event.
Discography
With the Velvet Underground
* ''
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
'' (1969)
* ''
Loaded'' (1970)
* ''
Live at Max's Kansas City'' (1972)
* ''
Squeeze'' (1973)
* ''
1969: The Velvet Underground Live'' (1974)
* ''
VU'' (outtakes compilation, 1985
968–1969
* ''
Another View'' (outtakes compilation, 1986
967–1969
* ''
Chronicles'' (compilation, 1991)
* ''
Peel Slowly and See'' (box set, 1995
965–1970
* ''
Final V.U. 1971-1973'' (live box set, 2001
971–1973
* ''
Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes'' (live, 2001
969
Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th year of the 10th century, and the 10th ...
* ''
The Very Best of the Velvet Underground'' (best of, 2003
966–1970
* ''
The Complete Matrix Tapes'' (live, 2015
969
Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th year of the 10th century, and the 10th ...
With Lou Reed
* ''
Sally Can't Dance
''Sally Can't Dance'' is the fourth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in September 1974 by RCA Records. Steve Katz and Reed produced the album. It remains Reed's highest-charting album in the United States, having p ...
'' (1974)
* ''
Coney Island Baby: 30th Anniversary Edition'' (1975, 2005)
* ''
Between Thought and Expression: The Lou Reed Anthology'' (1992)
With American Flyer
* ''American Flyer'' (1976)
* ''Spirit of a Woman'' (1977)
Solo
* ''Live in Seattle'' (2002)
With RedDog
* ''Hard Times'' (2009)
* ''Nine-Tail Cat'' (2011)
Other
*
Elliott Murphy
Elliott James Murphy (born March 16, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, record producer, and journalist.
Biography
Elliott Murphy was born in Rockville Centre, New York, grew up in Garden City, Long Island and began playi ...
: ''
Night Lights'' (1976)
*
Maureen Tucker: ''
Moe Rocks Terrastock'' (2002)
*
The Loves: ''...Love You'' (2010)
References
External links
Doug Yule– Violin page
RedDog– RedDog home page
– fansite
– essay about the later, Yule-led days of the Velvet Underground and their final album
– from 1994
Interview from 2008 about the Velvet Underground and folk music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yule, Doug
1947 births
Living people
Musicians from Great Neck, New York
American rock bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
American rock keyboardists
American rock songwriters
American organists
American male organists
American rock singers
American multi-instrumentalists
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male singer-songwriters
The Velvet Underground members
Bowed string instrument makers
Guitarists from New York (state)
20th-century American guitarists
20th-century American pianists
American Flyer (band) members
American male pianists
21st-century American keyboardists
21st-century American organists
20th-century American keyboardists
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singer-songwriters
21st-century American male singers
21st-century American singer-songwriters
Singer-songwriters from New York (state)
Protopunk musicians
American tenors