NPR

How Lenny Kaye, The Godfather Of Garage Rock, Illuminated 'The Psalms'

Lenny Kaye is an elemental force in music and a spiritually attuned diviner of sounds. On this episode, he walks us through his process and his inspirations.
Jessi Colter and Lenny Kaye

Lenny Kaye became my hero in 1972, after he assembled one of rock's greatest anthologies, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968.

I spent countless hours listening to that compilation, discovering garage-borne bands from around the country. Many — most — of these artists would likely never have been heard outside of their hometowns without his help. That album was, in more ways than one, the spark that lit the coming punk movement.

Outside of his curatorial brilliance on and the inspiration it provided to artists like Iggy and The Stooges, Lenny Kaye played. His legacy, with Patti and through his work as record producer, continues.

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