Lou Reed, the legendary guitarist who had a profound impact on generations of artists, died at his home in Amagansett, New York on Sunday.
The singer’s cause of death was liver disease, Dr. Charles Miller of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio revealed. Dr. Miller had performed a life-saving liver transplant on Reed earlier this year, but the singer decided to return to his home on Long Island after learning the disease could no longer be treated.
“We all agreed that we did everything we could,” Miller told the New York Times.
In June, Reed was feeling better and had hopes of returning to the stage after having to cancel a performance at Coachella in April due to “unavoidable complications.”
“I am a triumph of modern medicine, physics and chemistry. I am bigger and stronger than stronger than ever,” Reed wrote on Facebook. “I look forward to being on stage performing, and writing more songs to connect with your hearts and spirits and the universe well into the future.”
Reed was 71 years old.
