Doug Yule

Over the years people have begun to notice the Velvet Underground.  One of the band's most proficient and productive member happens to be the most forgotten one.  His name is Doug Yule, he replaced John Cale after he and Lou Reed constant butting of heads threatened to destroy the band.  Doug was a young musician who played in a rock band called The Grass Menagerie.  His bass playing caught the attention of Lou Reed (Doug was on friendly terms with the band back in 1967) who hired him to fill the void left by Cale's departure.  Doug fit right into the band's progression towards more radio friendly music and away from the avant-garde style of the first two albums.   On the band's third album "The Velvet Underground" He sings on the track Candy Says and does a lot of background vocals on the others to mask Lou Reed's strained vocal cords (due to the band's constant touring).

During the recording of the next album (Loaded), Doug played keyboards, organ, bass guitar and drums along with singing lead on the songs "Who Loves the Sun", "New Age", "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" and "Oh, Sweet Nuthin'".  His sweet melancholy vocals give the songs an added depth and an aura of naivete.  His contributions on the album have been squashed by Lou Reed over the years.  Doug had to re-record vocals and guitar parts for the increasingly unreliable Reed who was becoming disenchanted with playing in a rock n' roll band.  On the eve of Loaded's release, Reed quit the band and headed back to his parents house whilst Doug took over his spot as leader of the band. 

The Doug Yule version of the Velvet Underground toured constantly for the next 3 years,  During this time original members Sterling Morrison (in 1971 to pursue a career in academics) and Maureen Tucker (in 1972 after she was "let go" by the band's manager).  Doug went into a English studio to record the sixth Velvet Underground album "Squeeze".  He played all of the instruments (except some drum tracks that were performed by Ian Paice) wrote and sang all of the song.  The album was delayed several times (the studio masters were lost at one point) and when it was released (in Europe only) the album didn't sell very well and "Squeeze" has been deleted from the official Velvet Underground Catalog.  Recordings of the album are very rare and is sometimes available from other music collectors.

Doug toured with various line-ups of the Velvet Underground until 1973 when he finally put the band's name to rest.  A year later he received a call from Lou Reed asking him if he wanted to tour with him.
Doug played guitar on the tour and he even stood in for him during one performance. After the tour was over he did some session work for Elliot Murphy and American Flyer before retiring from the music business to become a cabinet maker. Doug Yule's contributions to the Velvet Underground have been sadly overlooked.  He wasn't even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with his former band mates. Hopefully one day he'll get his just desserts and be remembered for his time in one of the most influential rock bands.