Album · Lenny Kravitz
Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz
Let Love Rule is an album by Lenny Kravitz, released in 1989. 3 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 69 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Let Love Rule”, on 37 lists with a best position of #15.
Let Love Rule, Lenny Kravitz's debut album, came out on Virgin on September 6, 1989, and it's about as close to a one-man band as a major-label debut gets. Kravitz wrote and produced every song and played nearly every instrument himself; the main exception is the words, with his then-wife Lisa Bonet writing the lyrics to "Fear" and co-writing those for "Rosemary".
He's a throwback and proud of it. The sound is warm, analog-feeling soul and rock, all loose drums, fuzzy guitar and grooves that seem to have been dug out of an old record crate, with Kravitz singing peace and love like he means every word. The title track swells slowly into a big, joyous release, "Mr. Cab Driver" snarls and struts, and "Sittin' On Top of the World" keeps things easy.
It got to number 61 on the Billboard 200 and number 56 in the UK, and the video for "Let Love Rule" earned an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best New Artist. The album also made the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Let Love Rule on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Let Love Rule | 37 | #15 | – | 1989–2026 | |
| 2 | Mr. Cab Driver | 18 | #65 | – | 1990–2014 | |
| 3 | Sittin' On Top of the World | 14 | #1115 | – | 1999–2014 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.