Lenny Kaye
History Personified: Lenny Kaye’s Life in Music
The Greenwich Village of the 1960s was a carnival of music, literature, poetry, coffee houses, free love, fashion and great ethnic food. The neighborhood’s heartbeat was Bleecker Street, where one could hear the soon-to-be-discovered Bob Dylan at The Village Gate, or Joni Mitchell at The Bitter End. 1967 saw the arrival of Village Oldies on Bleecker Street, a record store offering doo-wop, disco, rock and roll, blues, garage, and rare overseas finds. This open-all-night mecca of music soon became the late-night hang for the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa, and was where an aspiring poet/singer named Patti Smith met store clerk and musician Lenny Kaye. CREDIT: Jonathan Broady Flash forward 50-plus years and Kaye, who spent 46 years with Smith as a founding member and guitarist of the ...
Patti Smith Performs ‘People Have the Power’ for Voters in New York City
Patti Smith and her longtime guitarist Lenny Kaye serenaded early voters with her apropos 1988 song “‘People Have the Power” in a New York City performance early Tuesday morning. With New York City being Smith’s home base, many voters standing in line knew the tunes and joined in on the chorus. A clip of the moment was posted to the Instagram of the Joy To The Polls account, who wrote, “Singing to voters in the streets is so punk! We love @thisispattismith bringing people power to the polls with this impromptu performance in NYC earlier this week. You don’t have to be the Godmother of Punk to surprise and delight voters in long voting lines!” Finishing the song, Smith entreated, “Don’t forget it, use your voice! Vote!” Additionally, Smith, masked and in a beanie, posted a photo on Instagra...
