MEMORABLE MONDAYS: Lenny Kravitz

 You may know Leonard Albert Kravitz by his shortened "Lenny" moniker, and you may have heard something about an American woman or wanting to fly away on the radio. This multi-talent star is actually the child of Sy Kravitz and Roxie Roker. (Before you ask, yes, he is distantly related to Al Roker). He has sold 40 million albums worldwide and won the Grammy for best male rock vocal performance consecutively from 1999 to 2002. So what makes this man tick?

Born May 26th, 1964 in New York City, his mother was a Christian of African American and Bahaman descent, while his father was of Russian and Jewish descent. This culturally unique experience would be part of what made Kravitz unique. He was named after his grandfather, Leonard M. Kravitz, who died in the Korean war. 

At the age of three, he was showing interest in music and by the age of five decided he wanted to be a musician. He grew up on various genres of music his parents listened to, and one of his favorites was the Jackson 5. His father promoted jazz often, so Kravitz was familiar with some of the more acclaimed such as Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald. Duke Ellington even played Happy Birthday for him on his fifth birthday. 

When he was 10, they relocated to Los Angeles where his mother obtained her role for The Jeffersons. There, he joined the California Boys Choir and performed for 3 years. The city also introduced him to rock and roll. He said he was attracted to the lifestyle, and shared a high school with Slash and Nicolas Cage. In 1985, his parents divorced.

Trying to break into the industry was difficult for Kravitz being biracial, as the labels kept trying to push him in different directions since it was not "white" or "black" enough. With this, he decided to record an album under the name Romeo Blue. His collaborator, Henry Hirsh, would go on to be part of his major label career as well. After completing a majority of the recording, Kravitz approached Stephen Elvis Smith, who has worked with his mother. He asked Smith to manage his career and assist him in getting a record deal. Within a month of sending the recordings around, 5 record labels were in a bidding war for him. He decided to sign with Virgin Records. With Smith's urging, he also reclaimed the Lenny Kravitz moniker and dropped Romeo Blue. 

His debut, Let Love Rule, released in 1989. Current wife of the time, Lisa Bonet, directed the debut music video. Music critics gave the album mixed feedback. Some felt he was a gifted new artist, others felt he wore his influences too close to his sleeve. He had to quickly assemble a touring band, as he pllaying almost all the instruments for the debut album. He got opening slots for Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie. 

Kravitz gained popularity with some more public appearances. He performed "Cold Turkey" at the John Lennon Memorial concert in 1990. He produced the song "Justify My Love" for Madonna, which he had co-written with Ingrid Chavez. He appeared in the Peace Choir that performed Give Peace a Chance in the protest of the Gulf War. 

A 1991 separation led to a 1993 divorce between Bonet and Kravitz. Rumors flew that he had an affair with Madonna, but he denied infidelity. Kravitz assisted Vanessa Paradis in production of her self-titled debut album. He co-wrote most of the songs and played most of the instruments. 

His second album, Mama Said, released in 1991 and was his first to reach the top 40 charts. The songs document his depression after the breakup with Bonet. "Always on the Run", dedicated to his mother, includes guitar by Slash. 

Kravitz continued to expand his collaborative catalog, writing "Line Up" for Aerosmith in 1993 and appearing on Mick Jagger's solo album, "Wandering Spirit". He played guitar on the title track of David Bowie's "The Buddha of Suburbia". Around this time, he also released his 3rd album, "Are You Gonna Go My Way". It reached number 12 on the Billboard charts and won several awards. He released a tour EP "Spinning Around Over You". It condluded with a 1994 release of "Alive from Planet Earth", documenting his life around the Universal Love tour.

After working some with Teena Marie and KISS for a cover album, he went back to work on his own endeavors. His mother died of breast cancer in 1995, creating the dampened mood for the album "Circus". The album was not well-received by critics, but reached number 10 on the Billboard chart. It touched more on his difficulty with his mother's illness and death, the disdain for the music business at the time, and his faith. 

For his next album, he finally began embracing digital advancements for music like samplers and protools. He recorded the album between his home and a studio in the Bahamas. "5" introduced his music to an even wider audience, with Fly Away becoming a massive hit. It led to his first of the 4 consecutive grammy wins. His cover of the Guess Who's hit "American Woman" also won him another award. 

In 2000, Kravitz released the greatest hits album, and was his most successful. It reached second place on the Billboard 200 and sold nearly 11 million copies worldwide. 

Kravitz's next release, "Lenny", came out in 2001 and was met with better critical reviews. It also includes a song discussing the incident in which Kravitz was arrested, being mistaken for a bank robber. The police did not believe him until the bank teller said it was not him. He also joined the likes of Michael Jackson, Prince, and George Michael with a minimalist one-man show effort of an album. He wrote, arranged, and produced every song on the record.

He became the subject of a photobook by the former chief photographer for Rolling Stone, Mark Seliger. Seliger published a book in 2001, capturing Kravitz with family, friends, poses, and on tour. Kravitz would also appear on the track "Guns and Roses" for the 2002 release "The Blueprint 2: Gift & The Curse". In 2003, he released "We Want Peace" as a response to the Invasion of Iraq. 

His next release, "Baptism" released in 2004. He intended it to be a funk album, but he changed his mind as the album progressed. He decided on something more straight rock like his debut. It features a bit darker material, discussing his personal struggles and depression. The album was met with poor critical reviews. Some of them even suggested he should hang it up rather than release another depressing deluge like this one... Despite this, the next tour was one of his most successful. Just before the tour began, Sy, his father, had passed away. 

In 2006, Kravitz made appearances on Madonna's Confessions Tour and launched a design firm. He said if he had not gone into music, he would have been a designer. He spent time doing most charitable concerts such as Live Earth. 

2008 he released his next album, It Is Time for a Love Revolution. The album was met with much better reviews than Baptism, although some still feel his work was becoming a bit too much of the same. The promotion of the album was deeply injured by problems with bronchitis, which led to many delayed shows and even some concert cancellations as he was even hospitalized. 

The "funk" album Kravitz had been thinking of and possibly working on as early as 1997 was revisited in writing, originally planning an album titled "Negrophilia". However, with the election and hatred of Obama, Kravitz felt inspired to write something different. This became the 2011 release "Black and White America", an album that led to a bit more critical praise than his others. It also boasted some more prominent collaborators in Drake and Jay-Z. During this year, he also received the French honor of "Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres". It is given to those whose contributions to the arts are significant. 

2014 arrived to bring us the first independent Kravitz release, Strut. He declared the album to be about being proud and confident in who you are, because we are all different. It led to mixed reviews from critics. More of a midrange score, and a bit disappointed that it was not as hard hitting as Black and White America. This year, Kravitz also performed alongside Katy Perry in the superbowl halftime show. 

Since then, Kravitz released another album, Raise Vibration, independently. He has a new album slated for release this year on May 24th. It is certainly a great time to introduce yourself to his long winded catalog to prepare for a new release. One thing for sure - Kravitz will not let his music be defined by color.