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Lenny Kaye

Lenny Kaye (né Kusikoff; born December 27, 1946) is an American guitarist, composer, and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group, led by vocalist and poet Patti Smith.[1]

Lenny Kaye

Lenny Kusikoff

Lenny Kaye Connection

(1946-12-27) December 27, 1946

Guitar, bass, vocals

1964–present

Early life and education[edit]

Kaye was born to Jewish parents[2] in the Washington Heights area of Upper Manhattan, New York City. His father changed the family name from Kusikoff to Kaye when Lenny was one-year old.[3] He grew up in Queens and Brooklyn.


Kaye originally began playing 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, where Kaye attended high school. In 1967, he graduated from Rutgers University, where he majored in American history.[4]


He became a member of science fiction fandom and gained experience in writing, publishing his own science fiction fanzine, Obelisk, at the age of 15.[5]


His personal collection of fanzines are the foundation of the Lenny Kaye Science Fiction Fanzine Library at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.[6] Though he majored in American history, his true vocation was musical, and it was there that he first began playing in bands, on a college mixer and fraternity circuit. His first gig was with the Vandals at Alpha Sigma Phi on November 7, 1964.[7]

I've Got a Right (Giorno Poetry Systems, 1984) with: Paul Dugan (bass), David Donen (drums), Jan Mullaney (organ, synthesizer), Charles Roth (synthesizer), John Helfand (pedal steel)

(The Wind / Norton Records, 2010, TWR002 LP)

Daddy Rockin Strong: A Tribute to Nolan Strong & The Diablos

Official website

at AllMusic

Lenny Kaye

at IMDb

Lenny Kaye

Lenny Kaye