SONG OF THE DAY
“Are You Gonna Go My Way” by Lenny Kravitz (Are You Gonna Go My Way, Virgin Records, 1993). Written by Lenny Kravitz and Craig Ross.
INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)
– The single has been covered by numerous artists, such as Metallica, in a medley for “MTV Hits” at the 2003 MTV Music Video Awards, Tom Jones and Robbie Williams on Jones’ 1999 album Reload and Melanie Brown in her solo section, on the Spice Girls Reunion Tour. Serbian hard rock band Cactus Jack recorded a version on their live cover album DisCover in 2002.
– It ranked #78 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s.
– “Are You Gonna Go My Way” was one of the most played videos in 1993 on MTV and is considered a landmark music video of the 90s. It won the 1993 MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Artist, and was played live during the show with John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame on bass. In 2006, it was ranked as one of VH1’s Top 20 Most Memorable Videos of All Time.
– The success of the song and the music video led to Kravitz being nominated for and winning several awards:
- Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo: Nominated
- Grammy Award for Best Rock Song: Nominated
- MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction: Nominated
- MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Artist: Won
– “Are You Gonna Go My Way” is one of Kravitz’s most successful songs, and is also considered one of his signature songs. The song failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but reached #1 on the Album Rock Tracks and #2 on the Modern Rock Tracks. It reached the top 5 in the UK, peaking at #4. It is still Kravitz’s most successful single in Australia, where it peaked at #1 for six weeks through April and May 1993. Are You Gonna Go My Way” is the only Diamond certified single by a male musician on Brazil.
