Patricia Lee "
Patti"
Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American
singer-songwriterSinger-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, poet and
visual artistThe visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
, who became a highly influential component of the New York City
punk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
movement with her 1975 debut album
Horses"Horses" is often cited as one of the greatest albums in music history. In 2003, the album was ranked number 44 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. NME named the album number 1 in its list "20 Near-as-Damn-It Perfect Initial Efforts"...
.
Called the "Godmother of Punk", her work was a fusion of rock and poetry. Smith's most widely known song is "
Because the Night"Because the Night" is a song by the Patti Smith Group, written by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith which was released as a single in 1978, taken from Smith's album Easter. The song was a hit, rising to #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and helping propel sales of Easter to mainstream success –...
", which was co-written with
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
and reached number 13 on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in 1978. In 2005, Patti Smith was named a Commander of the
Ordre des Arts et des LettresThe Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
by the French Minister of Culture, and in 2007, she was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
. On November 17, 2010, she won the
National Book AwardThe National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
for her memoir
Just KidsJust Kids is a memoir by Patti Smith, published on January 19, 2010. In the book, Smith documents her relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe.-Critical reception:Just Kids won the National Book Award for nonfiction in 2010...
. She is also a recipient of the 2011
Polar Music PrizeThe Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international music award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, possibly best known to be the manager of the Swedish pop group ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music....
.
Early years
Patricia Lee Smith was born in Chicago. Her mother, Beverly, was a waitress, and her father, Grant, worked at the
HoneywellHoneywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
plant. She spent her entire childhood in
Deptford Township, New JerseyDeptford Township is a township in Gloucester County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 30,561....
, raised as a Jehovah's Witness. She had a strong religious upbringing and a
BibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
education, but left organized religion as a teenager because she felt it was too confining; much later, she wrote the line "
JesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
died for somebody's sins, but not mine" in her cover version of
ThemThem were a Northern Irish band formed in Belfast in April 1964, most prominently known for the garage rock standard "Gloria" and launching singer Van Morrison's musical career...
's "Gloria" in response to this experience. She has described having an avid interest in Tibetan Buddhism around the age of eleven or twelve, saying "I fell in love with Tibet because their essential mission was to keep a continual stream of prayer", but that as an adult she sees clear parallels between different forms of religion, and has come to the conclusion that religious dogmas are "...man-made laws that you can either decide to abide by or not." At this early age Smith was exposed to her first records, including
Shrimp Boats by
Harry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
,
Patience and PrudencePatience and Prudence McIntyre, known professionally as Patience and Prudence, were two sisters who were a young singing act in the 1950s.-Career:...
doing
The Money Tree, and
Another Side of Bob Dylan, which her mother gave to her. Smith graduated from
Deptford Township High SchoolDeptford Township High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in Deptford Township, in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Deptford Township Schools.The first classes taught...
in 1964 and went to work in a factory. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter, on April 26, 1967, and chose to place her for adoption.
1967–1973: New York
In 1967, she left Glassboro State College (now
Rowan UniversityRowan University is a public university in Glassboro, New Jersey, USA with a satellite campus in Camden, New Jersey. The school was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a twenty-five acre tract of land donated by the town...
) and moved to New York City. She met photographer
Robert MapplethorpeRobert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
there while working at a book store with a friend, poet
Janet HamillJanet Hamill is an American poet and spoken word artist. Her poem "K-E-R-O-U-A-C" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and her fifth collection, "Body of Water...
. She and Mapplethorpe had an intense romantic relationship, which was tumultuous as the pair struggled with times of poverty, and Mapplethorpe with his own sexuality. Smith considers Mapplethorpe to be one of the most important people in her life, and in her book
Just KidsJust Kids is a memoir by Patti Smith, published on January 19, 2010. In the book, Smith documents her relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe.-Critical reception:Just Kids won the National Book Award for nonfiction in 2010...
refers to him as "the artist of my life". Mapplethorpe's photographs of her became the covers for the Patti Smith Group
LPsThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
, and they remained friends until Mapplethorpe's death in 1989. In 1969 she went to Paris with her sister and started
buskingStreet performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
and doing
performance artIn art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
. When Smith returned to New York City, she lived in the
Hotel ChelseaThe Hotel Chelsea, also known as the Chelsea Hotel, or simply the Chelsea, is a historic New York City hotel and landmark, known primarily for its history of notable residents...
with Mapplethorpe; they frequented
Max's Kansas CityMax's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South, in New York City, which was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Origin of name:...
and
CBGBCBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
. Smith provided the spoken word soundtrack for Sandy Daley's art film
Robert Having His Nipple Pierced, starring Mapplethorpe. The same year Smith appeared with
Wayne CountyJayne County , formerly known as Wayne County, is an American male-to-female transsexual performer, musician and actress whose career has spanned several decades. County would go on to be known as rock's first transsexual singer...
in
Jackie CurtisJohn Curtis Holder, Jr. , better known as Jackie Curtis, was an actor, writer, singer and Warhol Superstar.-Early life and career:...
' play
Femme Fatale. As a member of the
St. Mark's Poetry ProjectThe Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church was founded in 1966 in the East Village of Manhattan by the poet and translator Paul Blackburn, it has been a crucial venue for new and experimental poetries for over four decades....
, she spent the early 70's painting, writing, and performing. In 1971 she performed – for one night only – in
Cowboy MouthCowboy Mouth is a 1971 play, written and performed by Sam Shepard and Patti Smith, and directed by Robert Glaudini.-Plot:The play is about Cavale and Slim, two absolute messes living in sin together. Unable to move, yet at complete unrest, Slim swings from blaming Cavale for the disaster that is...
, a play that she co-wrote with
Sam ShepardSam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
(The published play's notes call for "a man who looks like a coyote and a woman who looks like a crow".) She wrote several poems, "for sam shepard" and "Sam Shepard: 9 Random Years (7 + 2)" about her relationship with Shepard.
Smith was briefly considered for the lead singer position in
Blue Öyster CultBlue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
. She contributed lyrics to several of the band's songs, including "Debbie Denise" (inspired by her poem "In Remembrance of Debbie Denise"), "Baby Ice Dog", "Career of Evil", "Fire of Unknown Origin", "The Revenge of Vera Gemini" (on which she performs duet vocals), and "Shooting Shark". She was romantically involved at the time with the band's keyboardist
Allen LanierAllen Lanier was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult. Lanier played keyboards and rhythm guitar. He currently resides in Manhattan....
. During these years, Smith also wrote rock
journalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, some of which was published in
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and
CreemCreem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
.
1974–1979: Patti Smith Group
By 1974, Patti Smith was performing rock music herself, initially with
guitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist, bassist and rock archivist
Lenny KayeLenny Kaye is an American guitarist, composer and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group.- Early life :...
, and later with a full band comprising Kaye,
Ivan KralIvan Kral is a Grammy Award-winning Czechoslovakian-born American composer, filmmaker and singer. He works across many genres including rock, jazz, soul, country and film scores...
on
guitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and
bassThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
,
Jay Dee DaughertyJay Dee Daugherty is an American drummer and songwriter most known for his work with Patti Smith. As a member of the Patti Smith Group, he has been nominated twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.- Biography :...
on
drumsA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and
Richard SohlRichard Arthur Sohl was an American pianist, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work with the Patti Smith Group. He also played with Iggy Pop, Nina Hagen and Elliott Murphy...
on
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. Ivan Kral was a refugee from
CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, fleeing in 1968 after the fall of
Alexander DubčekAlexander Dubček , also known as Dikita, was a Slovak politician and briefly leader of Czechoslovakia , famous for his attempt to reform the communist regime during the Prague Spring...
. Financed by
Sam WagstaffSamuel Jones Wagstaff Jr. was an American art curator and collector as well as the artistic mentor and benefactor of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and poet-punk rocker Patti Smith...
, the band recorded a first single, "
Hey Joe"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written. "Hey Joe" tells the story of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico...
/
Piss Factory"Piss Factory" is a protopunk song written by Patti Smith and Richard Sohl, and released as a B-side on Smith's debut single "Hey Joe" in 1974. In 1989, Dave Marsh placed the song on the list of The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made....
", in 1974. The A-side was a version of the rock standard with the addition of a
spoken wordSpoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
piece about fugitive heiress
Patty HearstPatricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
("Patty Hearst, you're standing there in front of the
Symbionese Liberation ArmyThe Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
flag with your legs spread, I was wondering were you gettin' it every night from a black revolutionary man and his women..."). The B-side describes the helpless anger Smith had felt while working on a factory
assembly lineAn assembly line is a manufacturing process in which parts are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned logistics to create a finished product much faster than with handcrafting-type methods...
and the salvation she discovered in the form of a shoplifted book, the 19th century
FrenchThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
poet
Arthur RimbaudJean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet. Born in Charleville, Ardennes, he produced his best known works while still in his late teens—Victor Hugo described him at the time as "an infant Shakespeare"—and he gave up creative writing altogether before the age of 21. As part of the decadent...
's
IlluminationsIlluminations is an uncompleted suite of prose poems by the French poet Arthur Rimbaud, first published partially in La Vogue, a Paris literary review, in May–June 1886. The texts were reprinted in book form in October 1886 by Les publications de La Vogue under the title Les Illuminations proposed...
.
The Patti Smith Group was signed by
Clive DavisClive Davis is an American record producer and music industry executive. He has won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. From 1967 to 1973 he was the President of Columbia Records. He was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1975...
of
Arista RecordsArista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
, and in 1975 recorded their first album,
Horses"Horses" is often cited as one of the greatest albums in music history. In 2003, the album was ranked number 44 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. NME named the album number 1 in its list "20 Near-as-Damn-It Perfect Initial Efforts"...
, produced by
John CaleJohn Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
amid some tension. The album fused
punk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and spoken
poetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and begins with a cover of
Van MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
's "Gloria", and Smith's opening words: "Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine" (an excerpt from "Oath," one of her early poems). The austere cover photograph by Mapplethorpe has become one of rock's classic images. As the popularity of punk rock grew, Patti Smith Group toured the United States and Europe. The rawer sound of the group's second album,
Radio EthiopiaRadio Ethiopia is an album by the Patti Smith Group, released in October 1976 on Arista Records.- History :Radio Ethiopia was the followup record to Smith's widely acclaimed debut Horses. In interviews surrounding the album's release, Smith explained that she chose producer Jack Douglas in hopes of...
, reflected this. Considerably less accessible than
Horses,
Radio Ethiopia initially received poor reviews. However, several of its songs have stood the test of time, and Smith still performs them regularly in concert. She has said that
Radio Ethiopia was influenced by the band
MC5The MC5 is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan and originally active from 1964 to 1972. The original band line-up consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson...
.
On January 23, 1977, while touring in support of
Radio Ethiopia, Smith accidentally danced off a high stage in
Tampa, FloridaTampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, and fell 15 feet into a concrete
orchestra pitAn orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
, breaking several neck vertebrae. The injury required a period of rest and an intensive round of
physical therapyPhysical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
, during which time she was able to reassess, re-energize and reorganize her life. Patti Smith Group produced two further albums before the end of the 1970s.
Easter (1978) was her most commercially successful record, containing the single "
Because the Night"Because the Night" is a song by the Patti Smith Group, written by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith which was released as a single in 1978, taken from Smith's album Easter. The song was a hit, rising to #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and helping propel sales of Easter to mainstream success –...
" co-written with
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
.
Wave (1979) was less successful, although the songs "
Frederick"Frederick" is a rock song written by Patti Smith, and released as lead single from Patti Smith Group 1979 album Wave. The song is dedicated to Fred "Sonic" Smith, guitarplayer of the Detroit band MC5 and Smith's future husband...
" and "
Dancing BarefootDancing Barefoot is a book of memoirs written by writer and actor Wil Wheaton, and illustrated by illustrator Ben Claassen III.In Spring of 2003 Wheaton founded the independent publishing company Monolith Press, and released the book...
" both received commercial airplay.
1980–1995: Marriage
Before the release of
Wave, Smith, now separated from long-time partner
Allen LanierAllen Lanier was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult. Lanier played keyboards and rhythm guitar. He currently resides in Manhattan....
, met Fred "Sonic" Smith, former guitar player for Detroit rock band
MC5The MC5 is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan and originally active from 1964 to 1972. The original band line-up consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson...
and his own
Sonic's Rendezvous BandSonic's Rendezvous Band was a rock and roll band from Ann Arbor, Michigan in the 1970s, featuring veterans of the 1960s Detroit rock scene.- Background :Sonic's Rendezvous Band came from the ashes of four Michigan rock bands:...
, who adored poetry as much as she did. (Waves "Dancing Barefoot" and "Frederick" were both dedicated to him.) The running joke at the time was that she married Fred only because she would not have to change her name. They had a son, Jackson (b. 1982) who would go on to marry
The White StripesThe White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
drummer,
Meg WhiteMegan Martha "Meg" White is an American drummer best known for her work in the Detroit rock duo The White Stripes.-Early life:...
in 2009; and a daughter, Jesse (b. 1987). Through most of the 1980s Patti Smith was in semi-retirement from music, living with her family north of Detroit in
St. Clair Shores, MichiganSt. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located approximately northeast of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,715. The current mayor is...
. In June 1988, she released the album
Dream of LifeDream of Life is an album by Patti Smith, released in June 1988 on Arista Records. It was her first album after the dissolution of The Patti Smith Group. Lead single "People Have the Power" received some album-oriented rock airplay at the time, and later was revived by Bruce Springsteen as a theme...
, which included the song "
People Have the Power"People Have the Power" is a rock song written by Patti Smith and Fred "Sonic" Smith, and released as a lead single from Patti Smith 1988 album Dream of Life...
". Fred Smith died on November 4, 1994, of a myocardial infarction. Shortly afterward, Patti faced the unexpected death of her brother Todd and original keyboard player
Richard SohlRichard Arthur Sohl was an American pianist, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work with the Patti Smith Group. He also played with Iggy Pop, Nina Hagen and Elliott Murphy...
. When her son Jackson turned 14, Smith decided to move back to New York. After the impact of these deaths, her friends
Michael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
of
R.E.M.R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
and
Allen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
(whom she had known since her early years in New York) urged her to go back out on the road. She toured briefly with
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
in December 1995 (chronicled in a book of photographs by Stipe).
1996–2003: Re-emergence
In 1996, Smith worked with her long-time colleagues to record
Gone AgainGone Again is an album by Patti Smith, released June 18, 1996 on Arista Records. The production of the record was preceded by the deaths of many of Smith's close friends and peers, including her husband Fred "Sonic" Smith, her brother Todd, Robert Mapplethorpe, Richard Sohl and Kurt Cobain, with...
,
featuring "About a Boy", a tribute to Kurt CobainKurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
. Smith was a fan of Cobain, but was more angered than saddened by his suicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. That same year she collaborated with Stipe on "E-Bow the Letter"E-Bow the Letter" is the first single from R.E.M.'s tenth studio album New Adventures in Hi-Fi. It was released in August 1996 just weeks before the album's release. During the same month, R.E.M. signed its then record-breaking five-album contract with Warner Bros. Records. Although it peaked at...
", a song on R.E.M.'s New Adventures in Hi-FiNew Adventures in Hi-Fi is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia and the following day in the United States...
,
which she has also performed live with the band. After release of Gone Again,
Patti Smith had recorded two new albums: Peace and NoisePeace and Noise is an album by Patti Smith, released September 30, 1997 on Arista Records. Uncut magazine ranked the album 21st best of the year...
in 1997 (with the single "1959"1959" is a rock song written by Patti Smith and Tony Shanahan, and released as a promo single from Patti Smith 1997 album Peace and Noise. In 1998 the song was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.- External links :...
", about the invasion of Tibet) and Gung HoGung Ho is an album by Patti Smith, released March 21, 2000 on Arista Records. The song "New Party" was used as the official song for the 2000 Ralph Nader's presidential campaign...
in 2000 (with songs about Ho Chi MinhHồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
and Smith's late father). Songs "1959" and "Glitter in Their Eyes"Glitter in Their Eyes" is a rock song written by Patti Smith and Oliver Ray, and released as a promo single from Patti Smith 2000 album Gung Ho. In 2001 the song was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Michael Stipe of R.E.M. contributed to the backing vocals.-...
" were nominated for Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal PerformanceThe Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for works containing quality vocal performances in the rock music genre...
. A box set of her work up to that time, The Patti Smith MastersThe Patti Smith Masters is the box set by American rock singer-songwriter Patti Smith, released June 18, 1996 on Arista Records. The box set contains 20-bit digitally remastered CD versions of the first 5 Patti Smith's albums with bonus tracks, and a 6th disc, Selected Songs.- Disc six :- Release...
,
came out in 1996, and 2002 saw the release of Land (1975–2002),
a two-CD compilation that includes a memorable cover of PrincePrince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
's "When Doves CryA hit cover version by R&B singer Ginuwine was produced by Timbaland in 1996 for Ginuwine's The Bachelor album, Ginuwine's cover uses actual dove sound effects as texture for its jungle music-inspired instrumental track.-Charts:-Other cover versions:...
". Smith's solo art exhibitionA solo show or solo exhibition is an exhibition of the work of only one artist. The artwork may be paintings, drawings, etchings, collage, sculpture, or photography. The creator of any artistic technique may be the subject of a solo show. Other skills and crafts have similar types of shows for the...
Strange MessengerStrange Messenger is the art exhibition by Patti Smith, published in 2003 as a book.- External links :* at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh...
was hosted at The Andy Warhol Museum in PittsburghCarnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are four museums that are operated by the Carnegie Institute headquartered in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
on September 28, 2002.
2004–present
On April 27, 2004, Patti Smith released Trampin'Trampin' is an album by Patti Smith, released April 27, 2004. It was the first album Smith released on the Columbia Records label. Rolling Stone magazine placed the record on its list of "The Top 50 Albums of 2004".- Disc one :...
which included several songs about motherhood, partly in tribute to Smith's mother, who had died two years before. It was her first album on Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, soon to become a sister label to her previous home Arista RecordsArista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
. Smith curated the Meltdown festivalMeltdown is an annual, English festival, held in London, featuring a mix of music, art, performance and film. Meltdown is held in June at Southbank Centre, the arts complex covering and including the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and The Hayward...
in London on June 25, 2005, the penultimate event being the first live performance of Horses
in its entirety. Guitarist Tom VerlaineTom Verlaine is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the frontman for the New York rock band Television.-Biography:...
took Oliver Ray's place. This live performance was released later in the year as Horses/Horses.
On July 10, 2005, Smith was named a Commander of the
Ordre des Arts et des LettresThe Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
by the
French Ministry of CultureThe Minister of Culture is, in the Government of France, the cabinet member in charge of national museums and monuments; promoting and protecting the arts in France and abroad; and managing the national archives and regional "maisons de culture"...
. In addition to Smith's influence on rock music, the Minister also noted her appreciation of
Arthur RimbaudJean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet. Born in Charleville, Ardennes, he produced his best known works while still in his late teens—Victor Hugo described him at the time as "an infant Shakespeare"—and he gave up creative writing altogether before the age of 21. As part of the decadent...
. In August 2005, Smith gave a literary lecture about the poems of Arthur Rimbaud and
William BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
. On October 15, 2006, Patti Smith performed at the
CBGBCBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
nightclub, with a 3½-hour tour de force to close out
ManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's music venue. She took the stage at 9:30 p.m. (EDT) and closed for the night (and forever for the venue) at a few minutes after 1:00 a.m., performing her song "Elegie", and finally reading a list of punk rock musicians and advocates who had died in the previous years.
Smith was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
on March 12, 2007. She dedicated her award to the memory of her late husband, Fred, and gave a performance of
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
staple "
Gimme Shelter"Gimme Shelter" is a song by English rock band The Rolling Stones. It first appeared as the opening track on the band's 1969 album Let It Bleed. Although the first word was spelled "Gimmie" on that album, subsequent recordings by the band and other musicians have made "Gimme" the customary spelling...
". As the closing number of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Smith's "People Have the Power" was used for the big celebrity jam that always ends the program.
From November 2006 - January 2007, an exhibition called 'Sur les Traces' at
Trolley GalleryTrolley Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Shoreditch, east London, which emerged independently and alongside the already established Trolley Books in 2003. The gallery exhibits the work of new, emerging artists and is often host to first solo shows...
, London, featured
polaroidInstant film is a type of photographic film first introduced by Polaroid that is designed to be used in an instant camera...
prints taken by Patti Smith and donated to Trolley to raise awareness and funds for the publication of Double Blind, a book on the war in
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
in 2006, with photographs by
Paolo PellegrinPaolo Pellegrin is an internationally renowned photojournalist who was born in Rome, Italy, into a family of architects.-Biography:...
, a member of
Magnum PhotosMagnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo...
. She also participated in the
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
commentary for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
. From March 28 to June 22, 2008, the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art ContemporainThe Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, often known simply as the Fondation Cartier, is a contemporary art museum located at 261 boulevard Raspail in the 14th arrondissement of the French capital, Paris...
in Paris hosted a major exhibition of the visual artwork of Patti Smith, Land 250
, drawn from pieces created between 1967 and 2007. At the 2008 Rowan Commencement ceremony, Smith received an honorary doctorate degree for her contributions to popular culture.
Smith is the subject of a 2008 documentary film, Patti Smith: Dream of LifePatti Smith: Dream of Life is a 2008 documentary film about Patti Smith directed by Steven Sebring. It was presented at Berlin International Film Festival. The movie won the "Excellence in Cinematography Award: Documentary" at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and aired on the PBS series P.O.V...
. A live album by Patti Smith and Kevin ShieldsKevin Patrick Shields is an American-born, Irish vocalist, guitarist, and producer of alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine....
, The Coral SeaThe Coral Sea is a live recording of two performances by Patti Smith and Kevin Shields from 2005 and 2006 respectively. The set consists of Smith's homage to the photographer, her friend and former lover Robert Mapplethorpe, and consists of the text of her epic 1996 poem of the same title...
was released in July 2008. On September 10, 2009, after a week of smaller events and exhibitions in the city, Smith played an open-air concert in Florence's Piazza Santa Croce, commemorating her performance in the same city 30 years earlier.
In 2010, Patti Smith's book, Just Kids, a memoir of her time in 1970s Manhattan and her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe, was published. On April 30, 2010, Patti Smith headlined a benefit concert headed by band-mate Tony Shanahan, for The Court Tavern of
New BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. Smith's set included "Gloria", "Because the Night" and "People Have the Power."
On May 17, 2010, Patti Smith received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from
Pratt InstitutePratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
, along with architect
Daniel LibeskindDaniel Libeskind, is an American architect, artist, and set designer of Polish-Jewish descent. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect...
,
MoMAMoma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
director Glenn Lowry, former NYC Landmarks Commissioner Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, novelist
Jonathan LethemJonathan Allen Lethem is an American novelist, essayist and short story writer. His first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. It was followed by three more science fiction novels...
, and director
Steven SoderberghSteven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
. Following the conferral of her degree, Smith delivered the commencement address and sang/played two songs accompanied by long-time band member Lenny Kaye. In her remarks, Smith explained that in 1967 when she moved to New York City (
BrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
), she would never have been accepted into Pratt, but most of her friends (including Mapplethorpe) were students at Pratt and she spent countless hours on the Pratt campus. She added that it was through her friends and their Pratt professors that she learned much of her own artistic skills, making the honour from the institute particularly poignant for Smith 43 years later.
Smith is currently working on a crime novel set in London. "I've been working on a detective story that starts at the
St Giles in the FieldsSt Giles in the Fields, Holborn, is a church in the London Borough of Camden, in the West End. It is close to the Centre Point office tower and the Tottenham Court Road tube station. The church is part of the Diocese of London within the Church of England...
church in London for the last two years," she told
NMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
adding that she "loved detective stories" having been a fan of
Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
and US crime author
Mickey SpillaneFrank Morrison Spillane , better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American author of crime novels, many featuring his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 million copies of his books have sold internationally...
as a girl. Part of the book will be set in
GothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden.
On May 3, 2011, it was announced that Patti Smith is one of the winners of the
Polar Music PrizeThe Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international music award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, possibly best known to be the manager of the Swedish pop group ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music....
: "By devoting her life to art in all its forms, Patti Smith has demonstrated how much rock’n'roll there is in poetry and how much poetry there is in rock’n'roll. Patti Smith is a Rimbaud with Marshall amps. She has transformed the way an entire generation looks, thinks and dreams. With her inimitable soul of an artist, Patti Smith proves over and over again that people have the power."
On June 19, 2011, Patti Smith made her television acting debut on the TV series
Law & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
, appearing in an episode called "Icarus".
Smith has recorded a cover of Buddy HollyCharles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
's classic "Words of Love"Words of Love" is a song written by Buddy Holly and recorded by him on April 8, 1957. Holly harmonized for himself, by tape-recording each part and combining them. The song was not a notable hit for Holly, although it is regarded as one of his important recordings, and is available in most...
" for the CD Rave On Buddy HollyRave On Buddy Holly is a compilation album by various artists released on June 28, 2011 through Fantasy Records/Concord Music Group and Hear Music. The title of the tribute album to musician Buddy Holly, who died in a plane crash in 1959 at age 22, refers to the song "Rave On", one of his biggest...
, a tribute album tied to Holly's seventy-fifth birthday year which was released June 28, 2011.
Smith is also contributing a track to "AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered", a
U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
covers album due to be released through Q Magazine on October 25th. Smith recorded a cover of "Until The End Of The World" for the compilation.
Influence
Smith has been a great source of inspiration for
Michael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
of
R.E.M.R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
Listening to her album Horses
when he was 15 made a huge impact on him; he said later, "I decided then that I was going to start a band." In 1998, Stipe published a collection of photos called Two Times Intro: On the Road with Patti Smith.
Stipe sings backing vocals on Smith's songs "Last Call" and "Glitter in Their Eyes." Patti also sings background vocals on R.E.M.'s songs "E-Bow the Letter"E-Bow the Letter" is the first single from R.E.M.'s tenth studio album New Adventures in Hi-Fi. It was released in August 1996 just weeks before the album's release. During the same month, R.E.M. signed its then record-breaking five-album contract with Warner Bros. Records. Although it peaked at...
" and "BlueCollapse into Now is the fifteenth and final studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on March 7, 2011 on Warner Bros...
".
In 2004, Shirley MansonShirley Anne Manson is a Scottish recording artist and actress, best known internationally as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Garbage. For much of her international career Manson commuted between her home city of Edinburgh to the United States to record with Garbage but now lives and...
of GarbageGarbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production...
spoke of Smith's influence on her in Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s issue "The Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time", in which Patti Smith was counted number 47.
The SmithsThe Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
members
MorrisseySteven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
and
Johnny MarrJohnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse...
shared an appreciation for Smith's
Horses, and reveal that their song "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" is a reworking of one of the album's tracks, "Kimberly". In 2004,
Sonic YouthSonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
released an album called
Hidros 3 (to Patti Smith).
U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
also cites Patti Smith as an influence. In 2005
ScottishThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
singer-songwriter
KT TunstallKate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
released the single "
Suddenly I See"Suddenly I See" is a song by British singer-songwriter KT Tunstall and is featured on her debut album, Eye to the Telescope. It was released on 29 August 2005 as the third single from the album, charting at #12 in the UK Singles Chart . The single was a hit in Australia where it charted at #6 on...
" as a tribute of sorts to Patti Smith. Canadian actress
Ellen PageEllen Philpotts-Page , known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno...
frequently mentions Smith as one of her idols and has done various photo shoots replicating famous Smith photos. In 1978 and 1979,
Gilda RadnerGilda Susan Radner was an American comedian and actress, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1978.-Early life:...
portrayed a character called Candy Slice on
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
based on Smith.
Activism
In 1993, Smith contributed "Memorial Tribute (Live)" to the AIDS-Benefit Album
No Alternative-Home video track listing:# Matthew Sweet "Superdeformed"#*directed by Kevin Kerslake# Neneh Cherry "Athens, Georgia 1993"#*directed by Jim McKay & Michael Stipe# Urge Overkill "Take a Walk"#*directed by Matt Mahurin...
produced by the
Red Hot OrganizationRed Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
.
Furthermore, Smith has been a supporter of the
Green PartyThe Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
and backed
Ralph NaderRalph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
in the
2000 United States presidential electionThe United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
. She led the crowd singing "
Over the Rainbow"Over the Rainbow" is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland in the movie...
" and "
People Have the Power"People Have the Power" is a rock song written by Patti Smith and Fred "Sonic" Smith, and released as a lead single from Patti Smith 1988 album Dream of Life...
" at the campaign's rallies, and also performed at several of Nader's subsequent "
Democracy RisingDemocracy Rising was an organization founded in 2001 to oppose military actions of the United States against Iraq and, after the Iraq War, to promote an exit strategy to end the occupation of Iraq. It was a member of United for Peace and Justice. Its web site contained Ralph Nader's interactive...
" events. Smith was a speaker and singer at the first
protests against the Iraq WarBeginning in 2002, and continuing after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, protests against the Iraq War were held in many cities worldwide, often coordinated to occur simultaneously around the world...
organized by
Lou Posner of
Voter March on September 12, 2002, as U.S. President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
spoke to the
United Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
. Smith supported Democratic candidate
John KerryJohn Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
in the
2004 electionThe United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
.
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
continued performing her "People Have the Power" at
Vote for ChangeThe Vote for Change tour was a politically-motivated American popular music concert tour that took place in October 2004. The tour was presented by MoveOn.org to benefit America Coming Together. The tour was held in swing states and was designed to encourage people to register and vote...
campaign events. In the winter of 2004/2005, Smith toured again with Nader in a series of
rallies against the Iraq WarBeginning in 2002, and continuing after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, protests against the Iraq War were held in many cities worldwide, often coordinated to occur simultaneously around the world...
and
calls for the impeachment of George W. BushDuring the presidency of George W. Bush, several American politicians sought to either investigate Bush for allegedly impeachable offenses, or to bring actual impeachment charges on the floor of the United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee...
.
Smith premiered two new
protest songA protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs . It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre...
s in London in September 2006. Louise Jury, writing in
The IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, characterized them as "an emotional indictment of American and
IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i foreign policy". Song "
QanaQana also spelled Cana is a village in southern Lebanon located southeast of the city of Tyre and north of the border with Israel. The 10,000 residents of Qana are primarily Shiite Muslim although there is also a Christian community in the village....
"
[mp3] was about the Israeli airstrike on the
LebaneseLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
village of
QanaQana also spelled Cana is a village in southern Lebanon located southeast of the city of Tyre and north of the border with Israel. The 10,000 residents of Qana are primarily Shiite Muslim although there is also a Christian community in the village....
. "Without Chains"
[mp3] is about
Murat KurnazOn March 3, 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published a Summarized transcripts from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.The tribunal that examined the case against Kurnaz lasted for forty minutes....
, a
TurkishTurkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
citizen who was born and raised in Germany, held at
Guantanamo Bay detainment campThe Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
for four years. Jury's article quotes Smith as saying:
In an interview, Smith stated that Kurnaz's family has contacted her and that she wrote a short preface for the book that he was writing. Kurnaz's book, "Five Years of My Life," was published in English by Palgrave Macmillan in March 2008, with Patti's introduction.
On March 26, 2003, ten days after
Rachel CorrieRachel Aliene Corrie was an American member of the International Solidarity Movement . She was killed in the Gaza Strip by an Israel Defence Forces bulldozer when she was standing or kneeling in front of a local Palestinian's home, thus acting as a human shield, attempting to prevent the IDF from...
's death, Smith appeared in
Austin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, and performed an anti-war concert. She prefaced her song "Wild Leaves" with the following comments and subsequently wrote a new song "Peaceable Kingdom" which was inspired by and is dedicated to Rachel Corrie.
In 2009, in her Meltdown concert in Festival Hall, she paid homage to the
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ians taking part in
post-election protestsProtests following the 2009 Iranian presidential election against the disputed victory of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi occurred in major cities in Iran and around the world starting June 13, 2009...
by saying "Where is My Vote?" in a version of the song "
People Have the Power"People Have the Power" is a rock song written by Patti Smith and Fred "Sonic" Smith, and released as a lead single from Patti Smith 1988 album Dream of Life...
".
Band members
.jpg)
| 1974 |
- Lenny Kaye
Lenny Kaye is an American guitarist, composer and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group.- Early life :...
– guitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Richard Sohl
Richard Arthur Sohl was an American pianist, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work with the Patti Smith Group. He also played with Iggy Pop, Nina Hagen and Elliott Murphy...
– keyboardsA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
|
| 1975–1979 |
Lenny Kaye Lenny Kaye is an American guitarist, composer and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group.- Early life :...
– guitar, bass
Ivan KralIvan Kral is a Grammy Award-winning Czechoslovakian-born American composer, filmmaker and singer. He works across many genres including rock, jazz, soul, country and film scores...
– guitar, bass
Jay Dee DaughertyJay Dee Daugherty is an American drummer and songwriter most known for his work with Patti Smith. As a member of the Patti Smith Group, he has been nominated twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.- Biography :...
– drumsA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Richard Sohl – keyboards
Bruce Brody – keyboards (1978) |
| 1988 |
Fred "Sonic" Smith – guitar
Jay Dee Daugherty – drums
Richard Sohl – keyboards |
| 1996–2006 |
Lenny Kaye – guitar
Jay Dee Daugherty – drums
Tony Shanahan – bass, keyboards
Oliver Ray – guitar |
| 2007–present |
Lenny Kaye Lenny Kaye is an American guitarist, composer and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group.- Early life :...
– guitar
Jay Dee DaughertyJay Dee Daugherty is an American drummer and songwriter most known for his work with Patti Smith. As a member of the Patti Smith Group, he has been nominated twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.- Biography :...
– drums
Tony Shanahan – bass, keyboards
Jackson Smith – guitar |
Discography
Studio albums
- Horses
"Horses" is often cited as one of the greatest albums in music history. In 2003, the album was ranked number 44 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. NME named the album number 1 in its list "20 Near-as-Damn-It Perfect Initial Efforts"...
(1975)
- Radio Ethiopia
Radio Ethiopia is an album by the Patti Smith Group, released in October 1976 on Arista Records.- History :Radio Ethiopia was the followup record to Smith's widely acclaimed debut Horses. In interviews surrounding the album's release, Smith explained that she chose producer Jack Douglas in hopes of...
(1976)
- Easter (1978)
- Wave (1979)
- Dream of Life
Dream of Life is an album by Patti Smith, released in June 1988 on Arista Records. It was her first album after the dissolution of The Patti Smith Group. Lead single "People Have the Power" received some album-oriented rock airplay at the time, and later was revived by Bruce Springsteen as a theme...
(1988)
- Gone Again
Gone Again is an album by Patti Smith, released June 18, 1996 on Arista Records. The production of the record was preceded by the deaths of many of Smith's close friends and peers, including her husband Fred "Sonic" Smith, her brother Todd, Robert Mapplethorpe, Richard Sohl and Kurt Cobain, with...
(1996)
- Peace and Noise
Peace and Noise is an album by Patti Smith, released September 30, 1997 on Arista Records. Uncut magazine ranked the album 21st best of the year...
(1997)
- Gung Ho
Gung Ho is an album by Patti Smith, released March 21, 2000 on Arista Records. The song "New Party" was used as the official song for the 2000 Ralph Nader's presidential campaign...
(2000)
- Trampin'
Trampin' is an album by Patti Smith, released April 27, 2004. It was the first album Smith released on the Columbia Records label. Rolling Stone magazine placed the record on its list of "The Top 50 Albums of 2004".- Disc one :...
(2004)
- Twelve
Twelve is an album by Patti Smith, released April 17, 2007 on Columbia Records. As the title suggests, the album contains twelve tracks, all of which are cover versions. It debuted on Billboard 200 at number 60, with 11,000 copies sold in its first week...
(2007)
External links
- Patti Smith Wins National Book Award - video report by Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
- Patti Smith Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose is an American television interview show, with Charlie Rose as executive producer, executive editor, and host. The show is syndicated...
WNETWNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
. New York
- Patti Smith interview, live and report Land 250 exhibition 2008