1. Does the mere fact of having a “Greatest Hits” collection cause you to take time for     reflection?

Well, I'm always sort of reflecting on what I do…on what I've done, rather, not often, but I do. Usually before I make a new album, I'll listen to the previous albums just to see where I've been. It's a trip to have a “Greatest Hits” record. I never thought about it, and I spent so much of my life just trying to get a record deal and put some music out. And, now to have a “Greatest Hits” album eleven years later is…it's a trip. To just see it: “Lenny Kravitz: Greatest Hits.” What?

2. At this time, you've had a recording career for almost 11 years, and you're probably     more popular now than you've ever been before. In this time where a lot of artists come     and go quickly, why do you think you're continue to reach new high points?

The thing that I've enjoyed about my career is that it's been a gradual climb. And I think that's part of the reason why I've had longevity. I think it'd be a real nightmare to put a record out and sell 20 million copies and then after that, that's it. You know? I'm in this for the long haul. I've been making music my whole life and I'm gonna continue making it. So the rate of success has been…has been really good. It's worked out well.

3. It's never been easy for each step has involved hard work.

I've had to work very hard, and the thing about my music is that I don't really have a category or fit into any niche, so each time I come out with a new record, it's like, I'm a new guy. Sort of, the loyalty rate isn't that high. You know, I could have a big hit single, and then, put out the next single, and they say, “oh yeah, who are you?” You know. “Prove it again.” So, we've had to work hard.

4. Were you concerned with how the songs were sequenced on the “Greatest Hits?”

The “Greatest Hits” has their flow like any other album. So, I pretty much let Henry Hirsch, my engineer, put the sequence together. Well, I thought the record should start off rocking. That's…just thought it should have a high energy start.

5. How did you decide what songs to put on and what to leave off the “Greatest Hits?”

It's pretty simple. It is a greatest hits. It's not Lenny's favorite tracks, you know? So, Virgin had all their territories write down all their tunes they wanted and then we put it together and made it work, because I have a very international career, so that means different songs were hits in different places. So, we had to make the record work around the world.

6. Did you have the riff for “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” for a while or did it happen on     the spot?

We were just jamming in the studio. You know, I was jamming with Craig Ross, who I wrote the song with. It was one of those songs that happened in 5 minutes. We were jamming. I thought there was something happening. I told Henry to turn the tape machines on, and we played it. And that was it. And then I went and wrote the lyrics on a brown paper bag, I remember at my loft on Broome Street at the time. Went in and sang it the next day. And that was it.

7. Sometimes, people misunderstand your lyrics, like they did on “Are You Gonna Go My     Way?” and “Rock and Roll is Dead.”

A lot of people don't listen to the lyrics, really. There's a lot of my songs that deal with spirituality and deal with God, and I guess that if you're in tune with that, you'll read into it. A lot of people pretty much only listen to the chorus. So when you think of songs like “Rock & Roll is Dead,”, you know, which, a lot of people didn't dig or understand. They said, “What are you talking about, Rock & Roll is Dead?” We just made this guy the rock and roll, you know, whatever, (laughs), and now he's saying “Rock and Roll is Dead,” but they didn't listen to the verses to know what I was saying.

I was talking about the superficiality of it, the fact that image was taking precedence over music and talent and art. And it's also talking about people that feel they have to live that lifestyle…that stereotypical lifestyle in order to be a rock star. It's like, hey, be yourself. You don't have to shoot heroin, and act a certain way in order to be a rock and roll musician, you know. It's about the music. I mean, we've learned from those that came before us. It's not healthy. You die.

8. “Fly Away” won you a Grammy in 1998 for “Best Rock Vocal Performance-Male.”

“Fly Away” changed my life. There are certain songs that do. “Are You Gonna Go My Way” is one of them. “Let Love Rule” is another one. “Fly Away.” And, again, “Fly Away” was a very simple song that happened very quickly. The album was completed already, and I was in the studio jamming trying how to figure out an amplifier I was playing with. And, the amplifier just had a certain sound with the guitar I was playing that made me play those chords. I thought, “This is kind of cool. It's real simple, but it's got a flow to it.” So, I started to cut it. And, I cut it, finished it, again, in a day. And I thought, “Well this will make a good b-side. You know, the album's finished. I'll put it on the back of single.” And, a friend of mine heard it, and said, “You have to put this on the record.” I said, “Well, the record's done. It's turned in already. It's too late.” And he just pleaded with me. He said, “This is the song. It's going to be a hit.” At that point, I'd just finished making an album. I couldn't hear anything, you know? And so I called Virgin, stopped the whole thing, and threw the song on the record, and there it is.

9. How did you react to winning the Grammy for “Fly Away?”

When I won the Grammy, I wasn't even in the United States. I was in Paris at the time and having the time difference and doing the work I was doing, I sort of forgot about it. And I was riding around in a car, it was very late at night, going to a club. And the phone rang in the car, and it was my daughter. She had gone to the Grammy's. She said, “You won, you won, you won!” I was like, “Wow. This is cool.” Nothing wrong with that. You know, I grew up in a time when Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, these really great musicians were winning Grammy's. Of course, you're always thinking that “One day, I'd like to get one of these.” But it's nice. I have two now. I was very surprised. I didn't think they'd give me the same award twice. I didn't. But I'm thankful. I won the second Grammy for “Best rock vocal performance.”

10. And what was the name of the song that won your second Grammy?

“American Woman,” which again was something that happened very quickly. I was on tour at the time. And I got a call from a guy, Oseary, who runs Maverick Records, and he said, “We'd like you to cover 'American Woman' for “The Spy Who Shagged Me” soundtrack. And, uh, I had a couple days free. I was in between legs. I said, ”Well, let me go in the studio first, and just cut it. And see if I like the song at all. If I like the way it comes out, because we're dealing with a classic. So I went in the studio, cut the song in a couple of hours, and I liked it. And, uh, I said, “Alright, you can have it. Take this version. I don't have to re-cut it.” It came out fine. And that was it. The thing that I'm really happy about is it brought the Guess Who back. They started gigging again and got their song out on commercials… their version. And it's great. Actually, I'm getting ready to go up to Canada and perform it with them on a Canadian awards show.

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