Remember these words?
“Holly came from Miami, F-L-A
Hitchhiked her way across the USA
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs and then he was a she
She says, “Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side.”
They come from Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side” released in 1972, dealing with non-controversial subjects such as transsexuality, drugs, male prostitution and oral sex, the latter with a blatant reference to “giving head”, somehow escaping the censors. I had never heard anything like it when it came out. I knew Reed’s work with the Velvet Underground, but this sounded unlike any record ever before released, stand up bass and a sexy, soaraway sax solo.
“Holly” was real and she died two days ago. She really was a he before she was a she. Holly Woodlawn was born Haroldo Danhakl and was a star of the Andy Warhol era, appearing in various shows and movies including Trash, never successfully able to cast off the chaos that consumed her life. Latterly she had a little success too, in cabaret shows in America.
She’s died now, from a combination of liver and brain cancer, but Holly, from F-L-A, will live on through Lou Reed’s brilliant, timeless song, from the Transformer album which no self-respecting music fan should be without.
RIP Holly.
