Lenny Kravitz - Biography

Last Editor: L.FLORES				Lenny Kravitz Biography -   Name : Lenny Kravitz Profession : Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, lyricist, record producer, arranger, actor, interior designer, clothing designer Birth Details : May 26, 1964 (1964-05-26) (age 45) New York City, New York, USA Origin : United States Genre(s) : Rock, hard rock, heavy metal, funk rock, neo-psychedelia, pop rock, Soul, R&B, Album Rock, Ballad, blues-rock, blues Instrument(s) : Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums, harmonica, keyboards, percussion, sitar, piano, synthesizer Years active : 1989–present Label(s) : Virgin Records America Associated acts : Karl Denson, Dan Dyer, Vanessa Paradis, Madonna, Slash, Aerosmith, Mick Jagger, Guns N' Roses, Baha Men, Michael Kamen, Angie Stone, Cree Summer, Lio

Lenny Kravitz Trivia -

Has a daughter, Zoë Kravitz, with Lisa Bonet. Son of Roxie Roker and Sy Kravitz. Musician Is of African-American and Russian heritage. Dated Australian singer/actress Natalie Imbruglia. Dated French actress, singer and model Vanessa Paradis in the 1990s, before she met her current boyfriend, Johnny Depp. Is a vegetarian. Engaged to Brazilian model Adriana Lima [May 2002] Once known for the long dreadlocks he'd had since he was a teenager, Kravitz cut them off prior to the release of his album "Five" in 1998. An only child. Named after his uncle, Pfc. Leonard Kravitz, who was killed in action in Korea on 7 March 1951 while supressing a Chinese attack and saving most of his platoon; he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Lenny has joined the fight to get his uncle the Congressional Medal of Honor. Supporters believe the CMH has been denied to Pfc. Kravitz because he was Jewish. Graduated Beverly Hills High School in 1982. Attended Beverly Hills High School, the same school as as Angelina Jolie, Michael Klesic, Nicolas Cage, David Schwimmer, Jonathan Silverman, Gina Gershon, Rhonda Fleming, Jackie Cooper, Rob Reiner, Antonio Sabato Jr., Pauly Shore, Elizabeth Daily, Corbin Bernsen, Michael Tolkin, Betty White, Crispin Glover and Albert Brooks. Used to perform under name Romeo Blue early in his career. Voted Hollywood's Biggest Heartbreaker by readers of In Touch magazine (2004). Attended high school with guitarist Slash from Guns N' Roses. His mother died at five minutes after midnight on December 2, 1995 only a day after his daughter, Zoë Kravitz's birthday. There was some concern that she would die on her birthday and the family did not want to celebrate the death of Zoe's grandmother on the same day as her birthday. Distant cousin of Al Roker. Lives on Sunset Island in Miami Winner of the 1994 Brit Award for International Male. Does a wide variety of musical styles; hard rock, soft rock, pop, funk, soul, and Motown-flavored R&B. Ranked #14 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists. Ranked #93 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Artists. Went to the same high school as "Profiler" (1996) star Jamie Luner. Loves Brazil and travels there often.

Lenny Kravitz Detailed Biography -

Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and guitarist whose retro-style amalgam of rock, pop, funk, and even techno is inspired by such music icons as Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon. Like Prince and Sly Stone before him, Kravitz uses a multi-ethnic, mixed-sex group back-up band. Kravitz was born in New York City, and is the son of Russian Jewish American film producer Sy Kravitz and Bahamian American actress Roxie Roker, best known as Helen Willis, a regular character on The Jeffersons. Kravitz was named after his uncle, Pfc. Leonard Kravitz, who was killed in action in Korea while suppressing a Chinese attack and saving most of his platoon; he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Some believe the Medal of Honor has been denied to Pfc. Kravitz because he was Jewish, citing similar circumstances in which others have been posthumously awarded the honor. His parents moved to California. Having taught himself bass, piano, guitar, and drums at an early age and developed his singing voice in the California Boys Choir and the Metropolitan Opera, he attended Beverly Hills High School and performed under the artist name, Romeo Blue. At that stage, he was heavily influenced by Prince. His parents were friends with jazz greats Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Short, and Miles Davis so he grew up in a musical household although he would pursue a career in rock rather than jazz. In the late 1980s, Kravitz returned to New York to pursue a musical career. He ended up sharing a house with Lisa Bonet of The Cosby Show. The two would fall in love and marry on November 16, 1987, Lisa's 20th birthday; they are divorced and have a daughter. Kravitz would broaden his influences beyond Prince to classic rock and soul artists such as Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield and Bob Marley. He signed a contract with Virgin Records. His 1989 debut album Let Love Rule was a moderate success, reaching #61 on the Billboard album charts. The title track would reach #89 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the modern rock charts. The second single, "I Build This Garden For Us" reached #25 on the modern rock charts. Kravitz gained greater recognition when Madonna reached number one with a cover version of his song, "Justify My Love" on her Immaculate Collection album of 1990. Kravitz's marriage to Lisa Bonet would end in the same year. His next album, Mama Said in 1991, reached the top 40 of the Billboard album charts and songs on the album were influenced by his divorce from Bonet. It contained the hit single "It Ain't Over Til It's Over", which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on the Billboard R&B charts. "Always On The Run" featured Slash of Guns N' Roses and reached #8 on the modern rock charts and #40 on the mainstream rock charts. "Stand By My Woman" reached the lower reaches of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #76, while "What Goes Around Comes Around" reached the top 40 of the Billboard R&B chart. The album would also feature a contribution by Sean Lennon which was Lennon's first appearance on record. In 1993, Are You Gonna Go My Way was released, reaching #12 on the Billboard 200 and earned a Brit Award for best international male artist in 1994. The title track won a MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video for the video produced by Mark Romanek. The single would reach #1 on the Australian and Billboard mainstream rock charts and #2 on the modern rock charts. Several singles from the album would follow including: "Believe" #60 on the Billboard Hot 100, #15 on the mainstream rock charts and #10 on the modern rock charts; "Is There Any Love In Your Heart" would reach #19 on the mainstream rock charts; and "Heaven Help/Spinning Around Over You" reached #80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Heaven Help" reached #92 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles charts. Kravitz covered the Kiss song "Deuce" for a tribute album, with the track reaching #15 on the Billboard rock chart. He released the Circus album in 1995, which reached number 10 on the Billboard chart on the back of his past achievement. However, it only had two singles: "Rock And Roll Is Dead" peaked at #75 on the Billboard Hot 100, #4 on the mainstream rock chart and #10 on the modern rock charts. "Can't Get You Off My Mind" reached #62 on the Billboard chart and #36 on the US adult chart.