"Femme Fatale" was written by Lou Reed, who is credited as sole writer of the music and lyrics. The Velvet Underground recorded it at Scepter Studios in New York in April 1966, with Nico on lead vocals. The track, in C major and about two and a half minutes long, has a pop sound with doo wop influences. It was released as the B-side of "Sunday Morning" in December 1966 and later appeared on the debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico (Verve, 1967). Lou Reed played lead guitar and sang backing vocals, John Cale played piano and bass, Sterling Morrison played rhythm guitar, and Maureen Tucker played drums and tambourine. AllMusic's Mark Deming ranked it among the album's four best songs, and Stephen Davis called it a beautiful song. Duran Duran recorded a version in 1992 for their 1993 album Duran Duran (The Wedding Album), a cover suggested to Warren Cuccurullo by Frank Zappa and described as stadium rock. Stuart Maconie of Q called it a hideously misjudged version. Other versions have been recorded by Big Star, R.E.M., Tom Tom Club, Propaganda, Sharon Van Etten with Angel Olsen, Susanna Hoffs and King Princess.
