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)
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