Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz has spent much of his career proving he can play any instrument or musical style put in front of him and his services have been in high demand by everyone from Madonna to Jay-Z. The son of actress Roxie Roker, Kravitz was raised in Manhattan and, inspired by a Jackson 5 concert, he was playing drums and guitar by the age of five. When the family moved to LA he was in the same class as Slash (of Guns N' Roses) and got into rock, adopting the name Romeo Blue as he left home to become a rock star. Neither intrinsically black or white, his music was considered uncommercial but, reverting to his birth name, Kravitz stuck to his guns, mixing rock and funk on debut album Let Love Rule in 1989. Initially more successful in Europe than the US, his reputation soared after he wrote Justify My Love for Madonna, produced an album for Vanessa Paradis and eventually had his own smash hit with It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over. He continued to collaborate with other artists, including Michael Jackson, and had a UK Number 1 album in 1993 with Are You Gonna Go My Way? More success followed in 2008 with It Is Time For A Love Revolution.