Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Lenny Rankins (known as "Fuzzy") spent the majority of his childhood in Wilmington, Delaware, where, through his church, he was first introduced to singing and playing musical instruments. He had the opportunity to play with various gospel groups, such as the Gospel Ambassadors and the Shield Brothers. Fuzzy moved to York, Pennsylvania, where he continued playing at the church and touring with gospel groups. At the age of 16, he performed in shows with Shirley Caesar, Al Green, Five Blind Boys, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Gospel Keynotes, James Cleveland, and many others. At the age of 19, Fuzzy formed his own gospel group called God's Angels based in York, Pennsylvania, recording, traveling and performing on the East Coast. He eventually expanded his music and organized an R&B group called the 14 Karat Band that toured and performed with major R&B artists, such as Tone Tone, Roy Clark, Basic Black, Patty Labelle, and Gerald Levert. Fuzzy moved to California in 1990 to further pursue