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Are You Gonna Go My Way (song)

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"Are You Gonna Go My Way"
Song

"Are You Gonna Go My Way" is the first single to be released by Lenny Kravitz from the album of the same name. It was released in March 1993. It was written by Lenny Kravitz and Craig Ross. 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. A remixed version is played as the opening theme song in Gran Turismo 3. The song was also featured in the premiere teaser trailer for "Guitar Hero: World Tour" and is featured in the game. It ranked #78 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s.

Composition

"Are You Gonna Go My Way" is an uptempo and anthemic rock song. The riff starts off with what is considered by many as a Jimi Hendrix rip-off[citation needed] as there are similarities to a riff that appears in the middle of Hendrix's song "Ezy Ryder." The lyrics are about Jesus Christ[citation needed].

Chart performance

"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 Mainstream Rock Tracks and #2 on the Modern Rock Tracks. Besides, it reached the top 5 in the UK, peaking at number four.[1] It is still Kravitz's most successful single in Australia, where it peaked at number-one for six weeks through April and May of 1993.[2]

Chart (1993-1994)[1] Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[2] 1
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[2] 2
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 1
Austrian Singles Chart 24
Dutch Singles Chart 8
French Singles Chart 4
German Singles Chart[3] 25
Irish Singles Chart[4] 6
Norwegian Singles Chart 7
Swedish Singles Chart 18
Swiss Singles Chart 12
UK Singles Chart 4

Music video

‎The music video consisted of Kravitz and his band playing, surrounded by people dancing. The opening shot of the video shows Lenny with his arms open, looking towards the heavens, before the scenary is filled with light. The opening scene of the video has been thought by many that it embodied Kravitz as Jesus Christ. The background scenography consists of a futuristic and architectonical place, something not unusual on Mark Romanek's videos, the director of the video. He would later direct more videos for Kravitz, such as "Is There Any Love In Your Heart" and "If You Can't Say No".

"Are You Gonna Go My Way" was one of the most played videos in 1993 on MTV [3] and has been considered on many MTV's best music video shows. 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 video is featured in the DVD for the special tour edition for Kravitz's Greatest Hits album. It is also featured on Directors Label Volume 4: The Work of Director Mark Romanek.

Tracklisting

  • CD 1
  1. "Are You Gonna Go My Way"
  2. "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over"
  3. "Always on the Run"
  4. "Let Love Rule"
  • CD 2
  1. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" - 3:32
  2. "My Love" - 3:52
  3. "All My Life" - 6:16
  4. "Someone Like You" - 4:14

Awards

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

Credits

  • Lead and background vocals performed by Lenny Kravitz.
  • Drums performed by Lenny Kravitz.
  • Electric guitar performed by Craig Ross.
  • Bass performed by Tony Breit.

References

  1. ^ "Are You Gonna Go My Way", various Singles Charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved June 19, 2008)
  2. ^ a b Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved June 19, 2008)
  3. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved June 19, 2008)
  4. ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved June 19, 2008)
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