New York Rocker Lou Reed Dies At Age 71

New York rocker Lou Reed has died at the age of 71.

Reed died in Southampton, N.Y., of an ailment related to his recent liver transplant, according to his literary agent, Andrew Wylie, who added that Reed had been in frail health for months. He had a liver transplant in May and was hospitalized for complications from the surgery in June according to TMZ.

"Lou Reed, my friend, a genius who transcended Rock. My condolences to his family. A poet ist, he performed like a hit-man on a mission," tweeted comedian Richard Lewis. "R.I.P. Lou Reed. Walk on the peaceful side," read a tweet from The Who. Pop star Miley Cyrus also sent her condolences. "noooooooooo notttttttttt LOU REED," she tweeted.

One of his final interviews was with The Guardian, in which he was his typically biting self, firing shots at the NSA’s then-recent spying allegations.“It’s so shocking,” Reed said. “Obama of all people having that thing going on … That’s our guy who did that. It’s very disturbing. A lot of the things [George W.] Bush would have done, Obama has continued. How did that happen?”

Reed was a member of Velvet Underground and from the 1970s into the 2000s "he was chameleonic, thorny and unpredictable, challenging his fans at every turn. Glam, punk and alternative rock are all unthinkable without his revelatory example," wrote  Rolling Stone of the Brooklyn-born guitarist and songwriter.

His career has been marked with milestones and several landmark records, including the Velvet Underground’s first four albums and ’70s solo classics like ‘Transformer’ and ‘Berlin.’ His last album was 2011's Lulu a collaboration with Metallica.

He is survived by his wife Laurie Anderson and was a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Velvet Underground.

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Ultimate Classic Rock contributed to this report