Rock singer and songwriter, born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She grew up in New Jersey and attended college on an art scholarship. In 1967 she moved to New York City where she gave poetry readings, wrote songs, and formed a band that defined the early punk culture and its music in the late-1970s. Their biggest hit, Because the Night (1978), was written with Bruce Springsteen. In 1979 she abandoned her musical career.
| Patti Smith | ||
|---|---|---|
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Patti Smith performing at the Summer Sundae festival in 2005 |
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Patricia Lee Smith | |
| Born |
December 30, 1946 Chicago, Illinois, USA |
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| Genre(s) | Rock, punk-rock, singer/songwriter, classic rock | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, poet, journalist, author | |
| Years active | 1974–present | |
| Label(s) |
Arista Records (1975–2002) Columbia Records (2002–present) |
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| Website | pattismith.net | |
Patricia Lee ("Patti") Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American musician, singer, and poet.
Although Smith's success has been limited in commercial terms (she has never had a RIAA certified record, has had just one Top 20 single, and has yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), she is often regarded as one of the most influential and important artists in rock history: Rolling Stone magazine recently placed her at #47 in its list of "The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time."
Beginnings
Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Mantua, New Jersey. The family was not wealthy and, with her formal education temporarily over at 16, Smith went to work in a factory – an experience she found excruciating. When Smith returned to New York City, she lived in the Chelsea Hotel with Mapplethorpe. She later married the Fred "Sonic" Smith, formerlly of the proto-punk band the MC5 (and not to be confused with Fred Smith, the bassist for Verlaine's band Television), with whom she had a daughter named Jesse and a son named Jackson).
Smith subsidized her career in these years by publishing rock journalism, especially in Creem magazine. She also wrote songs during this period in connection with Allen Lanier of Blue Öyster Cult, who recorded several songs to which Smith contributed, including "Career of Evil," "Fire of Unknown Origin," "The Revenge of Vera Gemini," and "Shooting Shark."
Early career
By 1974, however, Patti Smith was performing rock music herself, initially with guitarist and rock archivist Lenny Kaye, and later with a full band comprising Kaye, Ivan Kral (guitar), Jay Dee Daugherty (drums) and Richard Sohl (piano). The A-side describes the helpless anger Smith had felt while working on a factory assembly line and the salvation she discovered in the form of a shoplifted book, the 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud's Illuminations.
The Patti Smith Group was signed by Clive Davis of Arista Records, and 1975 saw the release of Smith's first album Horses, produced amidst some tension by John Cale, formerly of The Velvet Underground. The album begins with a cover of Van Morrison's "Gloria," and Smith's opening words are some of the most famous in rock: "Jesus died for somebody's sins ...
As the Patti Smith Group toured the United States and Europe, punk's popularity grew. However, several of its songs, notably "Pissing in a River, " "Pumping," and "Ain't It Strange," have stood the test of time, and Smith still performs them regularly in concert.
While touring in support of the record, Smith accidentally danced off a high stage in Tampa, Florida, falling 15 feet into a concrete orchestra pit and breaking several neck vertebrae.
The Patti Smith Group produced two further albums before the end of the 1970s.
Retreat
Following the release of Wave, Smith, now separated from long-time partner Jim Carroll, met Fred "Sonic" Smith, former guitar player for legendary Detroit rock band the MC5, who adored poetry as much as she did. When her son, Jackson, turned 12, Smith decided to move back to New York.
Since the release of Gone Again, the Patti Smith Group has recorded three new albums: Peace and Noise (with the single "1959," about the Chinese invasion of Tibet) in 1997, Gung Ho (with songs about Ho Chi Minh and Smith's late father) in 2000, and Trampin' in 2004 (which included several songs about motherhood, partly in tribute to Smith's mother who died in 2002). This last album, Smith's first with a new label, Sony, was critically acclaimed and returned her to the Billboard 200 for the first time in years.
Smith curated the Meltdown Festival in London, England during June 2005. The line-up, all hand-picked by Smith, comprised an extremely diverse array of actors and musicians, from Tilda Swinton and Miranda Richardson, to the London Sinfonietta, to Tuvan throat-singing group Yat-Kha which performed Purple Haze (as part of a tribute to Jimi Hendrix). The festival's penultimate event was a performance by Smith of her debut album Horses in its entirety, the first time she has ever done so.
In August 2005 Smith and the band opened the German RuhrTriennale and played two shows in the festival’s renowned songwriter’s concert series Century of Song.
On July 10, 2005, Smith was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Culture Ministry. In addition to her influence on rock and roll, the Ministry also noted Smith's appreciation for Arthur Rimbaud.
During the course of her career, Smith has published a number of books of poetry, including 1980's Babel;
Smith has been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame seven times (every year since 2001) but has never received the requisite number of votes for induction.
Political engagement
Smith was an active supporter of Ralph Nader's 2000 presidential campaign, touring with him and playing "People Have the Power" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" before crowds of thousands at the campaign's "super-rallies."
Smith premiered two new protest songs in London in September 2006.
Jury's article quotes Smith as saying, "I wrote both these songs directly in response to events that I felt outraged about. Jury quotes Smith, "He is the same age as my son, Jackson.
Discography
Studio albums
1975 - Horses (US #47) 1976 - Radio Ethiopia (US #122) 1978 - Easter (US #20) 1979 - Wave (US #18) 1988 - Dream Of Life (US #65) 1996 - Gone Again (US #55) 1997 - Peace and Noise (US #152) 2000 - Gung Ho (US #178) 2004 - trampin' (US #123) 2005 - Horses HorsesCompilations
2002 - Land (1975-2002)Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | UK | |||
| 1978 | "Because The Night" | #13 | - | - | - | Easter |
| 1988 | "Up There Down There" | - | #6 | - | - | Dream of Life |
| 1988 | "People Have The Power" | - | - | #19 | - | Dream of Life |
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