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American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lenny Kravitz speech at his Hollywood Walk of Fame star unveiling ceremony on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at 1750 N. Vine Street in front of the historic Capitol Records Tower in Los Angeles, California, USA. This video is only available for editorial use in all media and worldwide. To ensure compliance and proper licensing of this video, please contact us. ©MaximoTV
American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lenny Kravitz speech at his Hollywood Walk of Fame star unveiling ceremony on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at 1750 N. Vine Street in front of the historic Capitol Records Tower in Los Angeles, California, USA. This video is only available for editorial use in all media and worldwide. To ensure compliance and proper licensing of this video, please contact us. ©MaximoTV
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00:00 Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, I now declare today Lenny
00:10 Kravitz Day in Hollywood!
00:19 Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
00:24 I love you.
00:25 Thank you all so very much for being here.
00:34 Thank you to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for bestowing upon me this incredible honor.
00:41 Thank you, Zoe.
00:44 Thank you, Denzel.
00:46 Having both of you here, my daughter and my brother, means the world to me.
00:53 I moved from New York to LA when I was 11, and if Norman Lear never brought my mother
00:59 out here to do the Jeffersons, I probably wouldn't be standing here right now.
01:04 But LA was where a naive teenager chose to leave home at 15 and learn through determination
01:11 and the kindness of strangers that the streets and the people of LA would be my education
01:17 to music, to creativity, and to life.
01:23 I will forever be grateful to this city for that.
01:28 I used to walk these very streets because the action and the grit that I was missing
01:32 in New York was right here in Hollywood.
01:35 As a teenager, I spent a lot of time walking up and down Hollywood Boulevard seeing the
01:39 names of all my idols.
01:43 I never dreamt about having a star.
01:46 I was usually just looking for a place to crash, but I did dream about making the music
01:51 I wanted and doing my own thing.
01:54 To see my name, Lenny Kravitz, permanently engraved on the same streets I used to walk
02:01 is a surreal, indescribable feeling.
02:08 You know, I still visit my teenage home in Baldwin Hills that overlooks the entire city,
02:14 and from there I can see Sunset and Van Ness, where I take the bus to watch my mom film
02:19 The Jeffersons.
02:21 The excitement of watching her tape one of the most popular shows in the country was
02:25 both an early glimpse into show business and an education into the power of Hollywood.
02:32 I can see the Hollywood Bowl, where I performed my very first concert as a 12-year-old member
02:38 of the California Boys Choir.
02:42 My grandma, Bessie, who was terrified of flying, took a plane from New York for the first time
02:47 in her life just to see me perform, and it gave me an exhilarating taste of how I could
02:54 express myself through music.
02:57 I can see Washington and Rim Paw, where I spent hours every day as a teenager cutting,
03:03 gutting, and frying fish at a place called Leroy's Fish Market.
03:09 Everyone from the local hustlers to Mayor Tom Bradley ate there.
03:14 I stank of fish for a year, but the hustle and work ethic I learned there still resonates
03:20 with me four decades later.
03:24 I can see the original Guitar Center on Sunset and Vista, where I got my first Les Paul guitar
03:32 at age 12.
03:37 I used to live in that store, hanging out, checking out all the guitars and other equipment
03:42 I could not afford.
03:45 I can see the old A&M lot on Sunset and La Brea, where I would record my first demo as
03:52 a cocky young musician named Romeo Blue.
03:56 Y'all that know know.
04:00 After each session, I'd secretly sleep on the couch in the lounge.
04:03 I learned as much as I could about recording and eventually dropped the alter ego to perform
04:09 under my real name, Lenny Kravitz.
04:17 I'm eternally grateful for everyone who took the time to be here today, but I'm especially
04:23 honored to see the people that watched me evolve into an artist.
04:30 Shannon Brock.
04:37 You got me stoned for the first time in that little parking lot while we were cutting class
04:48 and introduced me to Led Zeppelin's Black Dog.
04:54 Forever altering the way I heard and understood music.
04:59 This star is for you.
05:02 Phineas Newborn.
05:08 You quickly became a brother to me when we were in the California Boys Choir.
05:13 The discipline and hard work we shared in learning the fundamentals of classical music
05:19 has forever shaped my musical journey and influenced my artistic expression to this
05:24 day.
05:26 This star is for you.
05:32 Trace Devay, my high school bandmate in Wave.
05:39 First group I was ever in.
05:42 You were right next to me for more than 40 years.
05:45 God, our first show at the Beverly Hills High Auditorium.
05:51 Wow.
05:52 This star is for you.
05:59 Carla Gibbs.
06:05 You've known me since I was 11 years old, and you've seen me through all the chapters
06:10 in my life.
06:12 I'm so blessed for the love that you've shown me, my mother, and the rest of my family.
06:20 You get another star.
06:26 Hal Williams.
06:28 Remember when you helped me memorize lines for a play we did at the Apex Theater on La
06:33 Brea?
06:35 Your brilliance as an actor showed me what it takes to be at the top of one's craft.
06:41 This star is for you, my brother.
06:47 Jeff Aeroff.
06:50 You signed me to Virgin Records when no one else understood or believed in me.
06:56 This star is for you.
07:02 Steve Smith, who knew me as a kid when he worked in the wardrobe department at the Jeffersons
07:09 and later became my very first manager.
07:13 This star is for you.
07:19 Lisa Bonet.
07:23 You were such a major part of me finding myself both as an artist and a human being.
07:31 This star is for you.
07:37 All of the people here that kept me company and talked to me through the window while
07:42 I washed dishes at East West Cafe on Fairfax.
07:49 As a teenager who was living in a car at the time, those hours you spent with me mean more
07:54 than you'll ever know.
07:56 This star is for all of you.
08:03 There's nothing that keeps me grounded more than seeing the people who have taken the
08:07 journey with me all these decades.
08:10 Craig Ross, my longtime guitarist and musical partner.
08:19 Alex Alvarez, my instrument technician who's worked with me for more than 30 years.
08:27 Craig Fruin and Carleen Donovan, my faithful manager and publicist who have guided me for
08:37 so long on this amazing journey.
08:41 Rich Feldstein and Jeff Hafer, my accountant and my lawyer who always have the answers.
08:50 And everyone at CAA who has helped keep me on the road for so long.
08:56 For everyone here that has nurtured my dream, this isn't my star.
09:03 This is our star.
09:05 Thank you all for this and let love rule.
09:26 Lenny thank you very much.
09:27 You really spread a lot of love around.
09:31 Now it's time for us to give you the love and unveil the star.
09:36 So shall we go down?
09:37 After you sir.
09:38 Now please.
09:39 Thank you.
09:40 Thank you.
09:40 (bell dings)
09:42 (whooshing)