Lewis Alan Reed was born on March 2, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York. In Freeport, Long Island Reed grew up with his Jewish family (Lou). Early on Reed expressed an interest in music. During his high school career he played guitar in many bands. Reed went through electric shock therapy, during high school days, to try to cure him from bisexuality (Lou). After Reed graduated from high school he attended Syracuse University to study poetry and journalism. Many of Lou’s poems were published in Fusion