Song:American Woman
Album:Greatest Hits
Lenny Kravitz was one of the most successful singer songwriters of the 90s. Though he had some hit singles, he was mainly an album artist. His 1999 cover of American Woman appeared on the soundtrack of the film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. It's not an "orphan" because Virgin Records added it to the 1999 rerelease of Kravitz's 1998 album 5. He was born May 26, 1964 in New York City. His mother was actress Roxie Roker of The Jeffersons and his father was NBC News producer Sy Kravitz. Kravitz became a Christian at age 13. Kravitz's dad promoted jazz concerts. Plenty of musicians hanging out at his house. Kravitz was also influenced by 60s soul music. The family moved to Los Angeles when Kravitz's mom started The Jeffersons in 1974. He was in the California Boys Choir and he was in the Beverly Hills High School music program with Nicolas Cage and Maria McKee. That's when he got into rock music. Kravitz tried to pattern himself after Prince. He called himself Romeo Blue. He moved to New York in the late 80s where he married Lisa Bonet of The Cosby Show. That's when he started working with his main collaborator Henry Hirsch and sax player Karl Denson. A Different World music supervisor Stephen Elvis Smith became Kravitz's manager and within a month got him a deal with Virgin Records. Kravitz's first hit single was It Ain't Over Til It's Over in 1991. But the song that really established him as a star was Are You Gonna Go My Way in 1993. It was released as an airplay only single so it was not eligible for the Billboard Got 100. But it was a huge worldwide hit and the album was certified 2XPlatinum. His 1995 album Circus was not as successful. And his mom died in 1995. The 1998 album 5 returned Kravitz to the charts with the top 15 hit Fly Away. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. Then he recorded American Woman for the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. The video featured the film's star Heather Graham. And MTV's playing the video is what made the record a hit. Kravitz performed American Woman with The Guess Who on the 1999 MuchMusic Video Awards. The soundtrack is available. And Virgin added American Woman to the 1999 rerelease of 5. It also appears on this Greatest hits comp which also has Kravitz's final big hit Again. Kravitz hasn't been as popular since then. He left Virgin in 2008 and his 2018 album Raise Vibration is on his own Roxie label with BMG distribution. His is currently on tour but he is working on a new album that may be part of a film project. Kravitz is probably a 90s nostalgia act at this point. Here's the video for American Woman by Lenny Kravitz.
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