Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)

At Warhol's insistence, Nico joined the V.U. on their debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. The album was recorded in one or two days — there is some disagreement in the band members' memories — at TT&G Studios, and released by MGM Records in March of 1967.
The album cover was famous for its simple, suggestive Warhol design: a bright yellow banana with "Peel Slowly and See" printed near a perforated tab. Those who did remove the banana skin found a pink, phallic, peeled banana beneath. This would later be used as the cover to their boxed set, appropriately titled "Peel Slowly and See," released in 1995.
Eleven songs showcased their stylistic range, veering from the pounding attacks of "I'm Waiting For The Man" and "Run Run Run," the droning "Venus In Furs" and "Heroin" to the quiet "Femme Fatale" and the tender "I'll Be Your Mirror".
The overall sound was propelled by Reed's strong deadpan vocals, Cale's droning or shrieking viola, Morrison's often R&B or country-influenced guitar, and Tucker's hypnotically simple but steady, propulsive beat.
The Velvet Underground and Nico peaked at number 171 on Bilboard Chart's top 200 charts, but the promising debut was muted somewhat by legal complications: The album's back cover featured a still from a Warhol motion pictures, Chelsea Girls. The film's cinematographers, Eric Emerson, had been arrested for drug possession and, desperate for money, claimed the still had been included on the album without his permission. MGM Records pulled all copies of the album until the legal problems were settled, and the still was airbrushed out.