Cool Yule

Happy birthday, Doug Yule.

It's late 1968.  The Velvet Underground are touring across the country. They have a certain following but their first two albums have barely charted.  There's tension between the two leading members, Lou Reed and John Cale (beyond management's pot-stirring and Lou's normal drug-fueled paranoia).  Reed would like to take the band in a more commercial direction--by Lou Reed standards--while Cale wants to continue in an experimental vein.

Anyway, Lou kicks Cale out of the band and the other two pretty much have to go along with it.  They need someone to replace Cale--well, someone to play bass anyway. It's not exactly clear why they called Yule, but he gets the gigs, and becomes not only the bassist, but also gets to sing on their next two albums when Lou isn't up to it.