Short Biography

Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is a popular 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 is known for his elaborate stage performances and music videos. Kravitz has had multiple number 1 hits on the US Top Singles Charts and many more worldwide. He won the Grammy Award for "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" four years in a row from 1999 to 2002, breaking the record for most wins in that category and most consecutive wins in one category. He has been nominated many more times and has also won many other prestigious awards. He has sold an estimated 38 million albums worldwide

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 Russian Jewish descent[1] and his mother was of Bahamian descent. 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.[2]

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.[3] Around the age of 7, he saw The Jackson 5 perform at Madison Square Garden, which became his favorite group.[4] 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.[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.

In 1974, the Kravitz family relocated to Los Angeles when Kravitz`s mother landed her role on The Jeffersons. At his mother`s urging, Kravitz joined the California Boys Choir for three years, where he performed a classical repertoire, and sang with the Metropolitan Opera. He performed in Mahler`s Third Symphony at the Hollywood Bowl. It was in Los Angeles that Kravitz was first introduced to rock music, listening to Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie,[citation needed] The New York Dolls,[citation needed] Pink

Miscellaneous Information

Distinctive Features

His Tattoos

His Afro

His Guitars

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