Lenny Kravitz Biography

Born in 1964, in New York City, Kravitz taught himself bass, piano, guitar and drums. He trained his voice in the California Boys Choir and the Metropolitan Opera.

First famous as 'Cosby Show' star Lisa Bonet's husband, Kravitz made a name for himself with his 1989 debut album, 'Let Love Rule', which showed off his impressive voice and his determination to only feature 'real' instruments, rather than digital and computerised passages.

'Mama Said' proved more consistent, with the funky 'It Ain't Over Til It's Over' reaching No.2, and propelling Kravitz to fame. He then wrote an album for French chanteuse, Vanessa Paradis, and collaborated with Mick Jagger and Aerosmith.

1993's 'Are You Gonna Go My Way' was a hard-rocking success. 'Circus' in 1995 was equally rocking, though moved away from the 1960's obsession. The singer last topped the UK charts with 'Fly Away', helped by massive media exposure as the song was chosen as the soundtrack to a Peugeot car advert.

He won the first of four consecutive awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance when he appeared at the 1999 Grammy Awards. His 'Greatest Hits' album, released in 2000, reached number two on the US Billboard 200 charts and sold close to 11 million copies worldwide, making it one of the top selling albums of the noughties.

The Singer's sixth album was recorded and released in 2001, entitled ‘Lenny’, after which he worked on a number of collaborative projects with artists including Jay-z and P Diddy. His seventh album, 'Baptism', was not released until May 2004 and featured a song with Jay-Z entitled 'Storm', which reached the charts, and the single 'Lady', which managed a top 30 entry in the US charts.

In addition to his music, he has somehow found time to establish an interior design business, Kravitz Design, which is focused on both commercial and residential design projects.

'It Is Time for a Love Revolution' was the singer's eighth album and he decided to promote it by doing a homespun tour spanning nine US cities. 2009 saw Kravitz extend his talents to acting and the singer-songwriter appeared in the film 'Precious', which had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

It was also rumoured that he will appear in an episode of hit US TV show, 'Entourage'.