Everything about Lenny Kravitz totally explained
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz (born
May 26 1964) is an
American singer-songwriter,
multi-instrumentalist,
record producer, and
arranger whose "
retro" style incorporates elements of
rock,
soul,
funk,
reggae,
hard rock,
psychedelic,
folk, and
ballads.
In addition to singing lead and backing vocals, Kravitz often plays all the
guitar,
bass,
drums,
keyboards, and
percussion himself when recording. He won the
Grammy Award for "
Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" four years in a row from 1999 to 2002. He has sold an estimated thirty million albums worldwide.
Biography
Early life
Kravitz was born in
New York City,
New York, the son of
Roxie Roker, an actress known for her character
Helen Willis in the 1970s hit television sitcom
The Jeffersons, and
Sy Kravitz, an
NBC television news producer. Kravitz's father was of
Ukrainian Jewish descent and his mother was of
Bahamian descent. Though
biracial, Kravitz tends to think of himself as black . Kravitz was named after his uncle,
Pfc. Leonard Kravitz, who was killed in action on
March 6,
1951 near
Yangpyeong,
Korea at the age of 20. Pfc. Kravitz fearlessly defended against a surprise Chinese Army attack, saving most of his platoon; he was posthumously awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest military decoration of the
United States Army.
Kravitz grew up spending weekdays on the
Upper East Side of
Manhattan attending P.S. 6 on 81st and Madison with his parents at his grandmother Bessie Roker's house in the
Bedford-Stuyvesant 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. Kravitz wanted to be a
session musician. He also appeared as an actor in television commercials during this time.
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 and
The New York Dolls, Kravitz adopted the
nom de guerre, "Romeo Blue," a new persona complete with
straightened hair,
eyeliner and
mascara, 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
Beverly Hills 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 either make it "black enough" to fit in with current radio-friendly
R and B styles or to make it "whiter" to work as a rock artist. "I refused," Kravitz told the
Los Angeles Times in 1989. He also notes that spirituality "has been an important issue in my growth", given his upbringing by parents of different faiths. Such spirituality is prominently featured on many of his songs, such as the lyrics on his album
Baptism, and having his back inscribed with a tattoo stating, "My Heart Belongs to Jesus Christ." During another interview, he quipped "I'm half Jewish, I'm half black, I look in-between."
1990s, early career
In 1990, Kravitz co-wrote with Ingrid Chavez and produced the song "
Justify My Love" for
Madonna. The song, which appeared on her greatest hits album
The Immaculate Collection and created controversy because of its explicit video, went to #1. Kravitz separated from Lisa Bonet in 1991, amid rumors of an affair between him and Madonna. Kravitz has denied any infidelity. Kravitz's biggest single yet, "
It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over", went to #2 on the
Billboard Hot 100. The single "
Always on the Run", a tribute to his mother,. One song, "Eleutheria", was influenced by the island
Eleuthera in
The Bahamas where Kravitz built a house and recording studio at that time.
On
July 7,
2007, Kravitz performed at the
Brazilian leg of
Live Earth in
Rio de Janeiro(External Link
), making him the only major international rock star to perform two huge free concerts at the world-famous
Copacabana Beach. Kravitz had already played there on
March 21,
2005, drawing 300,000 people on a concert of his own. The
Live Earth concert, with eight other acts on the bill, including
Pharrell Williams and
Macy Gray, took 400,000 to the beach.
Also in 2007, Kravitz released a version of "
Cold Turkey" by
John Lennon on the charity CD . Kravitz also spent time recording his latest album,
It Is Time for a Love Revolution, released February 5, 2008. Another album,
Funk, will also be released in 2008. This is believed to be a project that Kravitz has been working on since 1997. Some of the original tracks for Funk were recorded while he was in
New Orleans at
Allen Toussaint's studio while taking a break for several months from recording in New York City.
On September 25, 2007, the
Fats Domino tribute album "Goin' Home ; A Tribute To Fats Domino" was released. Kravitz was on the song "Whole Lotta Lovin'" along with
Rebirth Brass Band,
Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews,
Fred Wesley,
Pee Wee Ellis and
Maceo Parker.
Kravitz performed at the
Grey Cup halftime show in
Toronto on
November 25,
2007, where the
Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19.
The original video for "
I'll Be Waiting" was shot in
Central Park in
New York City with
Marc Webb directing but that video was later shelved and a new version, which Kravitz co-directed with Philip Andelman, was filmed in Lenny's New York City recording studio. The video premiered on VH1's Top 20 Countdown at number 3.
On
January 17,
2008, Kravitz embarked on a 9 city mini-tour to promote his new album
It Is Time for a Love Revolution. The tour started in
Santa Monica,
California and ended in
New York City on February 1st. The tour was done in association with Myspace and called the "Get on the Bus" tour. At each stop on the tour, they'd pick up one contest winner and their guest and they rode on the "Love Revolution" bus until the end of the tour.
On
February 11,
2008, Kravitz was admitted to Miami Hospital suffering from severe
bronchitis. He had been suffering from a series of severe respiratory tract infections since mid-January, and the illness has evolved into bronchitis.
Kravitz's illness had forced him to postpone his trip to Europe to promote his album
It Is Time for a Love Revolution. On
March 19,
2008 he canceled the South American part of his tour due to the same illness. The decision affected planned concerts in
Colombia,
Mexico,
Brazil,
Chile and
Argentina. In Argentina Kravitz had a performance in the biggest rock festival there, Quilmes Rock Fest.
Discography
Albums
| Year |
Album Info |
U.S. |
UK |
AUS |
ITA |
CA |
UWC |
Release date |
RIAA certification |
Worldwide sales |
| 1989 |
Let Love Rule |
61 |
56 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
September 19, 1989 |
Gold |
2,000,000 |
| 1991 |
Mama Said |
39 |
8 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
April 2, 1991 |
Platinum |
3,000,000 |
| 1993 |
Are You Gonna Go My Way |
12 |
1 (2) |
- |
13 |
- |
- |
March 9, 1993 |
2x Platinum |
4,000,000 |
| 1995 |
Circus |
10 |
5 |
- |
13 |
- |
- |
September 12, 1995 |
Gold |
1,500,000 |
| 1998 |
5 |
28 |
18 |
- |
5 |
- |
- |
May 12, 1998 (re-released 1999) |
2x Platinum |
6,000,000 |
| 2000 |
Greatest Hits |
2 |
12 |
14 |
1 |
- |
- |
October 24, 2000 |
3x Platinum |
10,000,000 |
| 2001 |
Lenny |
12 |
55 |
44 |
6 |
9 |
- |
October 30, 2001 |
Platinum |
3,000,000 |
| 2004 |
Baptism |
14 |
74 |
42 |
5 |
- |
5 |
May 18, 2004 |
Gold |
1,500,000 |
| 2008 |
It Is Time for a Love Revolution |
4 |
42 |
47 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
February 5, 2008 |
N/A (203,000 sales -Nielsen soundscan numbers) |
969,650 (worldwidealbums.net) |
Singles
A failed to chart.
B charted as a double A-Side on Billboard Hot 100 singles.
C peaked on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.
D peaked on Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles.
E download only single(s).
F current single(s).
Awards
Further Information
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