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Cover of The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground
Cover: The Velvet Underground & Nico

Song · The Velvet Underground

“I'm Waiting For The Man” by The Velvet Underground with Nico

From the album The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) With Nico

“I'm Waiting For The Man” by The Velvet Underground with Nico appears on 20 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1999 and 2023. It was first released in 1967 on the album The Velvet Underground & Nico. Its best result is #88 on the CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,211 alternative song of all time.

20countdowns
7stations
#88best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1999–2023years charted

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I'm Waiting For The Man

Video from YouTube (The Velvet Underground - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Lou Reed wrote "I'm Waiting for the Man," and the Velvet Underground put it on their 1967 debut, The Velvet Underground & Nico, with Andy Warhol credited as producer. The band cut it in May 1966 at TTG Studios during a stay in Hollywood, in the same run of sessions that yielded "Venus in Furs" and "Heroin".

The subject is as plain as a police blotter: a man heading up to Harlem to score heroin and waiting on his dealer. Reed tells it flat, half singing and half talking, over guitar that chugs, piano that clunks and drums that pound like a jackhammer, and it's been filed ever since under garage rock and proto-punk. AllMusic's Dave Thompson counted it among the all-time classic rock songs.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 931 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 89 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 89 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 88 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 346 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2002 88 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 88 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 88 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 89 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 1754 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 492 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 1722 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1722 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 702 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2010 1759 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1767 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1760 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1672 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2019 200 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2023 760 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229

Also listed as: I'm Waiting For My Man; Waiting For The Man; I'm Waiting for the Man; I'm Waiting For the Man.

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