Craig David Ross is an American guitarist best known for performing and recording with Lenny Kravitz.

Early life

Craig Ross was born and raised in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He has two daughters named Mia and Devon with his first wife Anna. Since 2014, he has been married to Spanish actress Goya Toledo. Craig Ross borrowed a guitar from a neighbor's garage at age eight. He began playing the music of the Beatles and Chuck Berry, his early influences.

Career

Before the age of sixteen, Ross started playing the L.A. clubs and eventually formed the band The Broken Homes while in high school, and going by the stage name Kreg Ross. They opened for prominent musicians like Stevie Ray Vaughan, INXS, and

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

, among others, while doing clubs gigs with bands such as Guns N' Roses and Jane's Addiction. The band made three records for MCA records in the 80s, working with producers such as

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and Rolling Stones fame. This seminal period gave Craig his education in studio work. His musical influences include

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, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page. A 'chance meeting' in an L.A. pool hall with Lenny Kravitz (facilitated by

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) led to a twenty plus year association. After touring with Kravitz for 1991's " Mama Said", Craig joined Lenny in the studio, co-writing and playing all the guitars on the track " Are You Gonna Go My Way", an anthem that helped elevate Lenny's career to new heights. The collaboration continued with stand-out solos on tracks such as "Believe" and "Is There Any love in Your Heart" helping make Lenny a top rock act. Craig has written and played on every subsequent Lenny album since as well as records by Sheryl Crow, Mick Jagger,

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

, Eric Clapton,

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and others. Ross co-wrote the songs " Spinning Around Over You", " Are You Gonna Go My Way", " Is There Any Love in Your Heart", " Where Are We Runnin'?", " Stillness of Heart", and " Lady" with Kravitz, as well as a number of songs on Kravitz's 2008 release '' It Is Time for a Love Revolution''. He also toured with Kravitz, including at the Glastonbury Festival in 1999."Live Reviews: The Glastonbury Festival June 25-27, 1999"
''Chart Attack'', Richard Beland, June 25–27, 1999. Ross played on

2001 album, '' Lions'', on the track "Greasy Grass River", and on former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford's first solo album, ''It's About Time'' in 2003. Ross, with Lenny Kravitz, performed at the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors tribute to Led Zeppelin by playing "

Whole Lotta Love "Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, '' Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Craig Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American rock guitarists American male guitarists Guitarists from Los Angeles