The Marriage That Broke Up the Velvet Underground

In honor of Betsey Johnson’s 81st birthday, which was on Aug. 10, I present the unknown story of her wedding to the Velvet Underground’s John Cale in 1968 at NYC’s City Hall, which is considered by many to be the final nail in the coffin of the partnership of Lou Reed and John Cale.

It was only 22 years later, after Andy Warhol died on Feb. 22, 1987, that Cale and Reed reunited to record their stunning masterpiece honoring Warhol, Songs for Drella, staying together for a Velvet Underground world tour. Then, as quickly as they had reunited, they dissolved their working partnership and went their separate ways again.

Betsey Johnson changed women’s fashion forever and John Cale and Lou Reed’s Velvet Underground spawned so many different musical genres that the votes are still being tabulated: Punk, Glam, Goth, Avant-Guard, Synth, Prog Rock, etc., etc. It was not only the stature of these two cultural icons that gets my vote for “Hipster Wedding of the Century,” but also for the glamorous unlikelihood of the pairing.

Read more at The Daily Beast.