Blogocentric Formulations

Wondering if I'll ever see you again with Lenny Kravitz

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Song: "Again"
Artist: Lenny Kravitz
Album: Greatest Hits

I love the fact that Lenny Kravitz has such a unique and versatile sound. I mean, the guy who gave us "Are You Gonna Go My Way"   is the same guy who gave us "Heaven Help"   ... and on the same album no less! He does a remarkable job of drawing from sources as diverse as rock, soul, reggae, and folk music, and he's known to record most of the instrumentals for his songs himself, since he knows how to play the guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboard, and percussion. He's also been in a string of movies including Precious, Lee Daniels' The Butler, and the first two installments of The Hunger Games. His daughter (with Cosby Show actress Lisa Bonet) seems to be following in his footsteps, playing the role of Christina in the Divergent movies, as well as X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Lenny Kravitz is of Russian-Jewish-Afro-Bahamian descent and a second cousin of Al Roker (his mother was Roxie Roker, who played Helen Willis on The Jeffersons). He originally performed under the stage name Romeo Blue, but quickly changed it to his real name before releasing his first album in 1989. Over the years, he's released ten studio albums and a variety of compilations. After a string of relationships (he split with Lisa Bonet after six years of marriage, then dated future-Johnny-Depp-girlfriend Vanessa Paradis, followed by supermodel Adriana Lima), he decided in 2005 that he was going to remain celibate until he remarried. It's been ten years and counting, although he's only confirmed a three-year stint and doesn't really discuss the matter anymore.

What I really like about Lenny Kravitz's music is that you never know what you're going to get. This is one of my favorite songs of his (in addition to the two I linked above), and was the only original song recorded for his Greatest Hits album in 2000. This track won him his third consecutive Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance (his two prior wins were for "Fly Away" and "American Woman"). He would actually further his streak to a record four in a row with his song "Dig In" the following year.