Lenny Kaye (''
né
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
'' Kusikoff; born December 27, 1946) is an American guitarist, composer, and writer, notable for his work with the
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...
Group, his contributions to music magazines, and his
garage rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...
retrospective anthology ''
Nuggets''.
Early life and education
Kaye was born to
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
parents in the
Washington Heights area of
Upper Manhattan
Upper Manhattan is the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, 110th Street (the northern boundary of Central Park), 1 ...
, New York City. His father changed the family name from Kusikoff to Kaye when Lenny was one-year old. He grew up in
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
and
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
.
He played the accordion, but by the end of the 1950s had dropped the instrument in favor of collecting records. In 1960, his family moved to
North Brunswick, New Jersey
North Brunswick is a Township (New Jersey), township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is centrally located in the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region within the New York metropolitan area. A ...
, where Kaye attended
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
. He participated in
science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...
and gained experience in writing, publishing his own
science fiction fanzine
A science-fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science-fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. They were one of the earliest forms of fanzine, within one of which the term "''fanzine''" ...
, ''Obelisk'', at the age of 15. His personal collection of fanzines later formed the foundation of the Lenny Kaye Science Fiction Fanzine Library at the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
in
Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...
.
Kaye graduated from
Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
, where he majored in American history, in 1967. During college he had begun playing in bands, on a college mixer and fraternity circuit. His first gig was with the Vandals at
Alpha Sigma Phi
Alpha Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Sig, is an intercollegiate men's social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Founded in 1845 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, it is the tenth oldest social fraternity in the United Sta ...
on November 7, 1964.
Career

Kaye's uncle was songwriter
Larry Kusik, who wrote lyrics to "
A Time For Us" and "
Speak Softly Love". Kusik noticed Kaye's lengthening hair and musical commitment, and asked him to sing on a song that he co-wrote with
Ritchie Adams ("You Were Mine").
Kaye recorded "Crazy Like A Fox" and its flip side song, "Shock Me", which were released as a 45, issued under the name of Link Cromwell, and leased to
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...
, a division of Starday Records in
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
; it was released in March 1966. It garnered a Newcomer Pick of the Week from ''
Cashbox'' ("A rhythmic bluesy folk-rocker with a pulsating beat") and was issued in the UK and Australia. Kaye's group at the time, The Zoo, played the college circuit in
New York and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, an experience captured on ''Live 1966'', an album released by
Norton Records.
He began writing for ''
Jazz & Pop'' magazine, and later for ''
Fusion'', ''
Crawdaddy'', ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'', ''
Creem
''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American rock music magazine and entertainment company, founded in Detroit, whose initial print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor ...
'' and ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
''. He became music editor for ''
Cavalier
The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...
'', a men's magazine, where he also wrote a monthly column until 1975. He served as the New York correspondent for ''
Disc'', a British weekly publication. He edited ''Rock Scene'' and ''
Hit Parader''.
While working at a record store on
Bleecker Street
Bleecker Street is an east–west street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightlife, nightclub district. The street connects a neighborhood popular today for music venues and comedy as well as a ...
in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
, Kaye met poet and vocalist
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...
. On February 10, 1971, he backed her at a reading at St. Mark's Church on East 10th Street, opening for
Gerard Malanga. They resumed performing in November 1973, and Kaye produced Smith's debut single, "Hey Joe/Piss Factory", and performed as part of her group throughout the 1970s, contributing to four of Smith's albums: ''
Horses
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 milli ...
'' (1975), ''
Radio Ethiopia'' (1976), ''
Easter
Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
'' (1978), and ''
Wave
In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from List of types of equilibrium, equilibrium) of one or more quantities. ''Periodic waves'' oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium ...
'' (1979).
Kaye authored a 1972 anthology of
garage rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...
during the 1960s, ''
Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968''.
With David Dalton, he co-authored the book ''Rock 100'', a 1977 overview of leading rock stars from the 1950s into the 1970s.
Following the Patti Smith Group's final performance, for the time being, in September 1979, Kaye joined
Jim Carroll and his band and fronted his own group, Lenny Kaye Connection. Over the years he has worked in studio capacities with Carroll,
R.E.M.,
James,
Soul Asylum,
Kristin Hersh
Martha Kristin Hersh (born August 7, 1966) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter known for her solo work and with her rock bands Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave, 50FootWave. She has released eleven solo albums. Her guitar work and comp ...
, and
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...
. He coproduced
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter of Folk music, folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans 40 years. In the mid-1980s and 1990s she released four singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the ...
's first two albums and her 1987 hit single, "
Luka", which was nominated for a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
as "Record of the Year".
In 1995, he reunited with Patti Smith and has been a part of her band since, creating six studio albums, a retrospective, and celebrating the 30th anniversary of their debut album, ''Horses''.
He has been nominated three times for Grammy Awards in the liner notes category for boxed sets on the 1960s folk revival of
Bleecker & MacDougal, the white blues band Crossroads, and the progressive rock band Elektrock. His book ''You Call It Madness: The Sensuous Song of the Croon'', about the romantic singers of the 1930s, was published in 2004.
In 2010, Kaye contributed a solo recording for ''Daddy Rockin' Strong: A Tribute to Nolan Strong and the Diablos'', released by The Wind/
Norton Records. Kaye recorded a version of "I Wanna Know", a 1950s rhythm and blues ballad. He appeared on and wrote one song for
The Fleshtones 2011 album ''Brooklyn Sound Solution'', released by
Yep Roc. He appeared on the
R.E.M. songs "Alligator Aviator Autopilot Antimatter" and "Blue", which appear on the band's 2011 album ''
Collapse into Now''.
In mid-February 2018, Kaye took over the night shift on
Underground Garage, replacing
Richard Manitoba
Richard Blum (born January 29, 1954), known by his stage name Handsome Dick Manitoba, is an American punk rock musician and radio personality. He was the singer of New York City-based band The Dictators from 1974 to 2008. With The Dictators, ...
.
Discography
* "Crazy Like a Fox" b/w "Shock Me" (as Link Cromwell; Hollywood Records, 1966)
* ''I've Got a Right'' (Giorno Poetry Systems, 1984)
* "Child Bride" b/w "The Tracks of My Tears" (Mer Records, 1980)
* ''
Daddy Rockin Strong: A Tribute to Nolan Strong & The Diablos'' (The Wind / Norton Records, 2010); track: "I Wanna Know"
* ''
Uma Estrela Misteriosa Revelará o Segredo'' (Relicário, 2024)
References
External links
Official website(archived from 2008)
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaye, Lenny
1946 births
Living people
20th-century American guitarists
American male guitarists
American male non-fiction writers
American male songwriters
American music journalists
American rock guitarists
American rock songwriters
American punk rock guitarists
Guitarists from New York City
Jewish American rock musicians
Jews in punk rock
Musicians from Manhattan
Patti Smith Group members
People from Washington Heights, Manhattan
Musicians from Brooklyn
Musicians from Queens, New York
Record producers from New York (state)
Rutgers University alumni
The Minus 5 members
21st-century American Jews