Lenny Kaye (né Kusikoff; born December 27, 1946) is an American guitarist, composer, and writer, notable for his work with the Patti Smith Group, his contributions to music magazines, and his garage rock retrospective anthology Nuggets.

Kusik noticed Kaye's lengthening hair and musical commitment, and asked him to sing on a song that he co-wrote with Ritchie Adams ("You Were Mine").

It garnered a Newcomer Pick of the Week from Cashbox ("A rhythmic bluesy folk-rocker with a pulsating beat") and was issued in the UK and Australia.

Kaye's group at the time, The Zoo, played the college circuit in New York and Pennsylvania, an experience captured on Live 1966, an album released by Norton Records.

[6] He began writing for Jazz & Pop magazine, and later for Fusion, Crawdaddy, Melody Maker, Creem and Rolling Stone.

While working at a record store on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, Kaye met poet and vocalist Patti Smith.

Over the years he has worked in studio capacities with Carroll, R.E.M., James, Soul Asylum, Kristin Hersh, and Allen Ginsberg.