Editing Lenny Kaye (section)

== Early life and education==
Kaye was born to [[Jews|Jewish]] parents<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/nyregion/13punk.html|title=Punk, and Jewish: Rockers Explore Identity|first=Ralph|last=Blumenthal|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 12, 2009}}</ref> in the [[Washington Heights, Manhattan|Washington Heights]] area of [[Upper Manhattan]], New York City. His father changed the family name from Kusikoff to Kaye when Lenny was one-year old.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dk4WpiMjt4cC&q=%22lenny+kaye%22+kusik&pg=PT125|title = The Heebie-Jeebies at CBGB's: A Secret History of Jewish Punk|isbn = 9781569762288|last1 = Beeber|first1 = Steven Lee|date = April 2007| publisher=Chicago Review Press }}</ref> He grew up in [[Queens]] and [[Brooklyn]].

He played the accordion, but by the end of the 1950s had dropped the instrument in favor of collecting records. In 1960, his family moved to [[North Brunswick, New Jersey]], where Kaye attended [[high school]]. He participated in [[science fiction fandom]] and gained experience in writing, publishing his own [[science fiction fanzine]], ''Obelisk'', at the age of 15.<ref>[http://www.mtvhive.com/2012/07/05/lenny-kaye-patti-smith-suzanna-vega-corin-tucker/ Wolk, Douglas. "Lenny Kaye, Silent Partner to Patti Smith, Suzanna Vega and Corin Tucker" ''MTV Hive'' July 5, 2012]</ref> His personal collection of fanzines later formed the foundation of the Lenny Kaye Science Fiction Fanzine Library at the [[University of Miami]] in [[Coral Gables, Florida]].<ref>[https://atom.library.miami.edu/asm0326 Finding aid: "Collection ASM0326 - Lenny Kaye Science Fiction Fanzine collection" University of Miami Library Special Collections; accessed 11-14-2021]</ref>

Kaye graduated from [[Rutgers University]], where he majored in American history, in 1967. During college he had begun playing in bands, on a college mixer and fraternity circuit. His first gig was with the Vandals at [[Alpha Sigma Phi]] on November 7, 1964.<ref name="lennykaye.com">{{cite web |url=http://lennykaye.com/bio.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203151456/http://lennykaye.com/bio.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 3, 2008 |title=Lenny Kaye |access-date=March 10, 2008 }}</ref>