|
|
|
|
| Birth Name(s) : Lenny Kravitz |
Date of Birth: May 26, 1964 |
| Status:
N/A
|
Partner:
N/A |
| Profession:
Musician |
Official Site
Go to the Lenny Kravitz Official Homepage |
| << Add Lenny Kravitz To Your Favorites |
|
Full Lenny Kravitz Biography
Lenny Kravitz is a sensitive rocker who's spent most of his career singing the message of love. I'm not talkin' love songs - I'm talkin' about the world being a better place if we would all just let love rule. Lenny's taken a lot of slaggin' from critics over the years being called a wannabe Led Zepplin, Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix but he hasn't let it stand in his way.
The retro rocker was born in 1964 in Brooklyn, NY to parents Sy Kravitz and the late actress Roxie Roker. Roxie was best known for her character on The Jeffersons. Lenny Kravitz didn't realize his parents were different races - his father White and his mother Black, until kids started talking about it at school.
Lenny Kravitz had a thing for music right away and by age 10 had dragged his parents to see Sarah Vaughan, James Brown, Duke Ellington and the Jackson 5. In 1974 the family moved to LA and Lenny snagged a spot in the California Boys Choir. He also started teaching himself to play the guitar, piano, bass and the drums. A few years later Lenny Kravitz was taking the music program at Beverly Hills High School and gave himself the name Romeo Blue.
Lenny Kravitz met and fell in love with The Cosby Show's Lisa Bonet. The couple lived together and married in 1987 and had a child, daughter Zoe, a year later. In 1989 Lenny released his first album Let Love Rule and had two hits with the songs Let Love Rule and Mr. Cab Driver.
Back then, it seemed like his music career was on the way up as his marriage was on the way down. Lisa and Lenny split in 1991 and divorced in 1993. The divorce affected Lenny Kravitz for many years to come and many of his songs reflect that. All the sorrow came out on his second album, Mama Said in 1991 and he added a couple more hits to his name with Mama Said (featuring a guitar solo by Gun 'n Roses' Slash) and It Ain't Over Til It's Over.
Lenny Kravitz rocked the planet with his third CD Are You Gonna Go My Way and the single of the same name became one of his biggest songs to date. After its release the critics finally started to ease up. Aside from singing and playing instruments, Lenny is also a talented writer, producer and arranger who's produced most of his own material and has also worked with other artists like Madonna. Lenny Kravitz wrote and produced her hit Justify My Love and even sings background vocals on the song.
In 1998 Lenny Kravitz released his fifth album titled 5 with the mega hit Fly Away. He also wrote a song in honor of his mom called Thinking of You. Shortly after its release Lenny cut off his trademark dreads. It was a symbolic experience marking a new beginning. Lenny Kravitz also did a remake of The Guess Who's gritty American Woman which was included on the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack, and was also included on later released versions of 5. |
|
|
Additional Lenny Kravitz Biography
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and arranger whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk, and ballads.
Kravitz grew up spending weekdays on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with his parents, and weekends at his grandmother Bessie Roker's house in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn. Kravitz began banging on pots and pans in the kitchen, playing them as drums at the age of three. At the age of five, he wanted to be a musician. He began playing the drums and soon added guitar. Kravitz grew up listening to the music his parents listened to: R&B, jazz, classical, opera, gospel, and blues. "My parents were very supportive of the fact that I loved music early on, and they took me to a lot of shows," Kravitz said. Around the age of 7, he saw The Jackson 5 perform at Madison Square Garden, which became his favorite group. His father, who was also a jazz promoter, was friends with Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Short, Miles Davis and other jazz greats. Ellington even played "Happy Birthday" for him one year when he was about 5. He was exposed to the soul music of Motown, Stax, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Gladys Knight, The Isley Brothers and Gamble and Huff growing up, key influences on his musical style. Kravitz often went to see New York theater, where his mother worked. His mother encouraged his dreams of pursuing music.
Kravitz went to school enough to pass, but was spending more and more time jamming with friends. His parents became concerned, wanting him to have something to fall back on. At the age of 15, determined to have a music career, Kravitz moved out of his house. He stayed with friends, slept in friends' cars, and at one point was even sleeping in his Ford Pinto. Inspired by David Bowie, Kravitz adopted the nom de guerre, "Romeo Blue," a new persona complete with straightened hair and blue contact lenses, and began performing. Kravitz's music at this time was heavily influenced by the synth-laden funk pop of Prince. In 1982, Kravitz graduated from high school and convinced his father to give him money to record instead of spending money on college. With his first demo, Kravitz received offers from several record labels, including I.R.S. Records, but Kravitz was told he needed to change his music to make it "black enough" to fit in with current radio-friendly styles. "I refused," Kravitz told the Los Angeles Times in 1989.
In 1993, Kravitz wrote "Line Up" for Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, and appeared on Mick Jagger's solo album, Wandering Spirit, in a cover of the Bill Withers' soul classic, "Use Me". That year Kravitz also got to work with idols Al Green and Curtis Mayfield.
In early 2003, Kravitz released the track "We Want Peace" as a download-only track as a protest against the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The track reached #1 on the world internet download charts and MP3.com download chart. Kravitz also appeared on Unity, the official album of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Kravitz appeared in the audience of Madonna's Confessions Tour (2006) during numerous shows. He would later join Madonna live on stage to play guitar on the song, "I Love New York," at the last of four Paris shows.
Lately, Kravitz has founded a design firm named Kravitz Design, stating if he hadn't been a musician he would have been a designer. Kravitz Design, focused on interior and furniture design, has designed residential spaces, as well as a chandelier for the crystal company Swarovsky, named "Casino Royale."
Grammy Awards
- 1998 - Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("Fly Away")
- 1999 - Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("American Woman")
- 2000 - Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("Again")
- 2001 - Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("Dig In")
Albums: Let Love Rule · Mama Said · Are You Gonna Go My Way · Circus · 5 · Greatest Hits · Lenny · Baptism · It Is Time for a Love Revolution
Singles: "Let Love Rule" · "I Built This Garden for Us" · "Mr. Cab Driver" · "Always on the Run" · "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" · "Stand by My Woman" · "Are You Gonna Go My Way" · "Believe" · "Heaven Help" · "Is There Any Love in Your Heart" · "Rock and Roll Is Dead" · "Can't Get You Off My Mind" · "Circus" · "If You Can't Say No" · "I Belong to You" · "Fly Away" · "Thinking of You" · "American Woman" · "Black Velveteen" · "Again" · "Dig In" · "Stillness of Heart" · "Believe in Me" · "If I Could Fall in Love" · "Where Are We Runnin'?" · "California" · "Storm" · "Calling All Angels" · "Lady" · "Bring It On" · "I’ll Be Waiting" |
|
| Add Lenny Kravitz Biography (SuperUSERS) + |
Lenny Kravitz Quote(s)
| I feel like I'm at the beginning of my career. |
|
| Add Lenny Kravitz Review/Comment
|
HQ Lenny Kravitz Pictures (54) | Random Lenny Kravitz Picture
|
| << Back to the Lenny Kravitz Homepage |
|
