Are You Gonna Go My Way (song)

"Are You Gonna Go My Way"
Single by Lenny Kravitz
from the album Are You Gonna Go My Way
Released	February 22, 1993
Format	CD single maxi single
Genre	Hard rock[1] funk rock[2]
Length	3:32
Label	Virgin
Writer(s)	Lenny Kravitz Craig Ross
Producer(s)	Lenny Kravitz
Certification	see below
Lenny Kravitz singles chronology
"What the Fuck Are We Saying?" (1992) "Are You Gonna Go My Way" (1993) "Believe" (1993)

"Are You Gonna Go My Way" is the first single to be released by Lenny Kravitz from the album Are You Gonna Go My Way. It was released in February 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 for the Jerky Boys OST, 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. Adam Lambert covered the song in November 2012 in his swing through South Africa.^[3] The song was featured in one episode of Fox animated series The Simpsons. It was also featured in the music video game Guitar Hero World Tour.

Music video

The music video was directed by Mark Romanek.^[4] It consisted of Kravitz and his band playing, surrounded by people dancing.

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

Personnel

• Lenny Kravitz – lead vocals, background vocals, drums
• Craig Ross – electric guitar
• Tony Breit – bass

Track listings

• 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

Chart performance

"Are You Gonna Go My Way" failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but reached no. 1 on the Album Rock Tracks and no. 2 on the Modern Rock Tracks. It also reached the top 5 in the UK, peaking at no. 4.^[5] It is still Kravitz's most successful single in Australia, where it peaked at number-one for 6 weeks through April and May 1993.^[6] "Are You Gonna Go My Way" is the only Diamond certified single in Brazil, with over 500,000 downloads.^[7]

Weekly charts Chart (1993) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[6] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 24 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 12 Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[10] 13 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 5 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] 13 France (SNEP)[13] 4 Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 25 Ireland (IRMA)[15] 6 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 8 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 2 Norway (VG-lista)[19] 7 Poland (LP3)[20] 24 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 18 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 12 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[5] 4 US Billboard Album Rock Tracks[23] 1 US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[23] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1993) Position Australia (ARIA)[24] 11 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[25] 75 Canada (RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks)[26] 59 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[27] 60 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[28] 76 Certifications and sales Region Certification Sales/shipments Australia (ARIA)[29] Platinum 70,000^^ Brazil (ABPD)[30] Diamond 500,000^* France (SNEP)[31] Silver 155,000[32] United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Silver 200,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Jamar Rogers Rocks Lenny Kravitz Tune 'Are You Gonna Go My Way' On 'The Voice'". Loudwire. April 9, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2014. Jamar Rogers (...) channeled his newfound energy into a rousing rendition of the Lenny Kravitz hard-rock hit 'Are You Gonna Go My Way.'
2. "We’re Gonna Go Lenny Kravitz’s Way". 100.3 Jack FM. CBS Local Media. February 22, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2013. such '90s funk-rock fare as "Let Love Rule," "Are You Gonna Go My Way," "Fly Away" and "American Woman"
3. White, Caitlin (November 15, 2012). "Adam Lambert: Lenny Kravitz 'Are You Gonna Go My Way' Cover Rocks Cape Town (Video)". AOL Music Blog. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
4. Tewksbury, Drew (September 16, 2010). "Mark Romanek: 'Never Let Me Go' Director On His Music Video Career". NPR Music. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
5. "Archive Chart: 1993-03-06" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
6. "Australian-charts.com – Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
7. Associação Brasileira de Produtores de Disco at the Wayback Machine (archived September 28, 2011). ABPD. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
8. "Austriancharts.at – Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
9. "Ultratop.be – Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
10. "Radio2 top 30: 20 maart 1993" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0972." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
12. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
13. "Lescharts.com – Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
14. "Offiziellecharts.de – Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
15. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Are You Gonna Go My Way". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
16. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
18. "Charts.org.nz – Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
19. "Norwegiancharts.com – Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way". VG-lista. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
20. "ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY? – Lenny Kravitz" (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
21. "Swedishcharts.com – Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way". Singles Top 100. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
22. "Swisscharts.com – Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
23. "Are You Gonna Go My Way – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
24. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Singles 1993". ARIA Charts. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
25. "Jaaroverzichten 1993" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
26. "Top Singles – Volume 58, No. 23, December 18, 1993". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
27. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1993" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
28. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1993" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
29. "Australian Fun Countdowns – Accreditation Awards". Australian Fun Countdowns. April 7, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
30. "Brazilian single certifications – Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos.
31. (French) Certifications Singles Argent – année 1994 at the Wayback Machine (archived February 11, 2009). SNEP. Disque en France. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
32. "Les Singles en Argent" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
33. "British single certifications – Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Are You Gonna Go My Way in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search