Femme Fatale (The Velvet Underground song)

"Femme Fatale"
Single b/w "Sunday Morning"
Single by The Velvet Underground and Nico
from the album The Velvet Underground & Nico
A-side	"Sunday Morning"
Released	December 1966 (single) March 1967 (album)
Recorded	April 1966, Scepter Studios,[1] Manhattan
Genre	Pop[2]
Length	2:39
Label	Verve Records
Writer(s)	Lou Reed
Producer(s)	Andy Warhol
The Velvet Underground and Nico singles chronology
"All Tomorrow's Parties / I'll Be Your Mirror" (1966) "Sunday Morning / Femme Fatale" (1966) "White Light/White Heat / Here She Comes Now" (1968)
The Velvet Underground & Nico track listing "Sunday Morning" "I'm Waiting for the Man" "Femme Fatale" "Venus in Furs" "Run Run Run" "All Tomorrow's Parties" "Heroin" "There She Goes Again" "I'll Be Your Mirror" "The Black Angel's Death Song" "European Son"

"Femme Fatale" is a song by The Velvet Underground from their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico, with lead vocals by Nico. At producer Andy Warhol's request, band frontman Lou Reed wrote the song about Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick.^[3] The song was released as a B-Side to "Sunday Morning" in December 1966. It is one of the gentler songs of the album, coming as a direct contrast to the previous, abrasive song, "I'm Waiting for the Man".

Personnel

• Nico – lead vocals
• Lou Reed – lead guitar, backing vocals
• John Cale – piano, bass
• Sterling Morrison – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Maureen Tucker – snare drum, tambourine

Cover versions

This list of songs or music-related items is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Year	Artist	Album	Label	Country	Notes
1974	Waïte, GenevièveGeneviève Waïte	Romance Is on the Rise	Phoenix Productions	South Africa	2004 bonus track
1978	Big Star	Third/Sister Lovers	PVC	US
1982	The Chefs as Skat	7" single	Graduate Records	UK	Femme Fatale / One Fine Day
1982	Thorn, TracyTracy Thorn	A Distant Shore	Cherry Red	UK
1984	Propaganda	Outside World	ZTT	Germany	2002 compilation
1985	Dramarama	Cinéma Vérité	Question Mark Records	US
1987	R.E.M.	Dead Letter Office	A&M	US
1988	Tom Tom Club	Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom	Sire	US
1993	Duran Duran	Duran Duran	Capitol (US), Parlophone/EMI	UK
1995	Pansy Division	Pile Up	Lookout!	US	Queercore
1995	Yggdrasil	Yggdrasil	Real Harm	Denmark
1997	Smiffenpoofs	The Smiffenpoofs Have Left the Building	Smiffenpoofs	US	Smith College a cappella group
2000	FourPlay String Quartet	The Joy Of…	Smart Pussy	Australia
2000	Jazzhole	Blackburst	Beave Music	US
2002	Ours	Precious	DreamWorks	US
2003	Elisa	Lotus	Sugar Music	Italy
2003	Simon, Émilie Émilie Simon	Émilie Simon	Barclay, Universal	France	Bonus disc
2003	Vitamin String Quartet	The String Quartet Tribute to Velvet Underground & Nico	Vitamin Records	US	Instrumental
2004	Hecate’s Angels	Saints and Scoundrels	REDfly	US	Band site
2005	Niza	Archivando Mis Recuerdos (1998-2004)	Elefant	Spain
2005	Angel Corpus Christi	Louie Louie	Gulcher Records	US
2006	Owen	At Home With Owen	Polyvinyl, Hobbledehoy	US
2006	Slater, AshleyAshley Slater	Cellophane	Plush	US
2007	Carroll, JCJC Carroll	The Rock Is in the Lapt0p	JC Carroll	UK	Artist site
2009	Beef	Unpiecing the Jigsaw: A Tribute to the Velvet Underground	Ozit	Holland
2009	Costello, ElvisElvis Costello	Secret, Profane & Sugarcane	Hear Music, Universal	UK	Bonus track
2009	Luminous Things	Luminous Things	Tiny Beat	US
2009	Marshall, SusanSusan Marshall	Little Red	Madjack	US
2009	TICA	Johnny Cliché	TARTOWN	Japan
2010	Blacc, AloeAloe Blacc	Good Things	Stones Throw, Vertigo	US
2010	Girl in a Coma	Adventures in Coverland	Blackheart	US
2010	Dolly Mixture	Everything and More	Self-Released	UK
2011	Marya, RupaRupa Marya & Ara Anderson	The Velvet Underground & Nico Tribute	Porto Franco	US	Live
2011	Yardsale Heart	Watercolours	Yardsale Heart	US	Band site
2012	Petersen, EvaEva Petersen	Emerald Green Eyes	Porcupine Records	UK	See also
2013	Anabel & Salgos	Equilibrista	Ferreras-Champollion	Spain, France	Label
2013	Bud Benderbe	The Velvet Underground & Nico & Bud Benderbe	Boo-Hooray	Holland, US	Label
2013	Caterwaulrus	eNVy yoU	Self-released	US	Band site
2013	Hifiklub & The Legendary Tigerman	Play Ghost of Nico	Parallel Factory	France, Portugal
2013	Red Appendix	A Tribute to Lou Reed	Cross2entertain		Label
2014	Doctor X	A Room with a VU	Lowbudget Records	US	Label

In concert or non-released tracks:

• Smashing Pumpkins side project Spirits in the Sky, on their 2009 tour.^[4]
• Samuel Windmill of The Percolaters, in an unreleased solo cover from the same session as the band's 2012 debut EP.
• Concrete Blonde, while opening for Wall of Voodoo on their "Happy Planet" tour in Melbourne, Australia played the song in honor of Lou Reed's birthday (March 2, 1988).

References

1. Discogs - Scepter Records (Manhattan) profile and discography
2. A. Zak, The Velvet Underground Companion: Four Decades of Commentary (Music Sales Group, 22 Dec 2000), ISBN 0825672422, p. 78.
3. Bockris, Victor (1994). Transformer: The Lou Reed Story. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 107. ISBN 0-684-80366-6. Andy said I should write a song about Edie Sedgwick. I said 'Like what?' and he said 'Oh, don't you think she's a femme fatale, Lou?' So I wrote 'Femme Fatale' and we gave it to Nico. (Lou Reed)
4. "Tour history - songs : Femme Fatale (Velvet Underground)". Spfc.org. Retrieved 2013-07-20.