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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZKRAVITZ, Lenny(b 26 May '64, NYC) Rock singer, songwriter. Mother of Bahamian and father of Russian Jewish descent; they met at NBC-TV. Studied piano, guitar and other instruments; moved to West Coast '77 where his mother had a part in TV series The Jeffersons; attended high school with Maria McKee and Slash. His parents split up '85; he had already determined on a musical career at 16: inspired by David Bowie and with stage name Romeo Blue, dyed hair and blue contact lenses, 'I was the thin brown duke!' He made a ten-song demo; a deal with IRS Records failed; he was signed to Virgin, he married actress Lisa Bonet '89 and released first album Let Love Rule same year, incl. 'Fear', with lyrics by Bonet. He had already given up the synths of his Romeo period and he was impossible to place, his music retro '60s and his flower-power dress sense complete with flared jeans, but the album attracted attention despite critical unease. He co-wrote Madonna's 'Justify My Love' (no. 1 '90) with ex-Prince sidekick Ingrid Chavez but took all the credit; when Chavez sued him mid-'91 he was separated from Bonet and said he'd done it to help her save face. He assembled an all-star cast and choir and prod. a recording of 'Give Peace A Chance' with Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon; his second album Mama Said '91 reached top 40 USA, top ten UK. 'It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over' (about his divorce) reached no. 11 UK and was only kept from the top in the USA by the astonishing success of Bryan Adams's '(Everything I Do) I Do It For You'. Meanwhile he toured Europe, supported Bob Dylan and sang on stage with Prince; he wrote and prod. hit 'Be My Baby' for Venessa Paradis '92, duetted on Mick Jagger album Wandering Spirit and contributed to work by Aerosmith, Curtis Mayfield and Al Green '93, and released his third album Are You Gonna Go My Way '93 (no. 12 USA/no. 1 UK). He had a home and an organic garden in the Bahamas, another home in New Orleans; he worked hard, doing it mostly himself, using analogue equipment; complaints that he was retro, not black enough or whatever faded away because people like his music. Since his fourth album Circus '95 reached the USA top ten without a hit single it's safe to assume that grownups like it. |