Rock to Reggae: 12 Songs That Inspire Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz came of age in New York City during the early '70s. As a boy, he had a front-row seat to the dynamic shifts in culture, music and art that were taking place. "I'd go anywhere from the Café Carlyle to see Bobby Short to the Apollo to see James Brown to Lincoln Center to see the pianist André Watts," he says.

When Lenny was 5 years old, he remembers sitting on a man's lap while the man played the piano. That pianist, he later learned, was American jazz legend Duke Ellington. These experiences helped shape Lenny as an artist and influence his signature musical style. Now, decades later, Lenny's taste in music is still as diverse as his upbringing. Find out what songs inspire him today.


My Inspirations

"Maybe Your Baby" - Stevie Wonder
"Have You Ever Been (to Electric Ladyland)" - Jimi Hendrix
"Ruby, My Dear" - Thelonious Monk
"Manhattan" - Bobby Short
"Johnny Was" - Bob Marley
"I'm Still in Love with You" - Al Green
"Family Affair" - Sly & the Family Stone
"Day by Day" - Jimmy Scott
"Mother" - John Lennon
"Freddie Freeloader" - Miles Davis
"Poetry Man" - Phoebe Snow
"Heroin" - The Velvet Underground

Have a Spotify account? Listen to Lenny's playlist here: