Patti Smith

Patti Smith was born in Chicago in 1946, the eldest of four children. After moving to New York City in 1967, she met photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who became “the artist of her life”. Smith began busking and writing, eventually moving into the Chelsea Hotel with Mapplethorpe. The pair mingled with other NYC creatives such as Andy Warhol, Lou Reed, Janis Joplin and Sam Shepard, establishing themselves as vital parts of the culture.

Smith was considered a potential lead vocalist for Blue Oyster Cult; however, she instead formed her own band, the Patti Smith Group. Their first single, ‘Hey Joe/Piss Factory’, was released in 1974. The following year, Smith began a two-month residency at CBGBs alongside Television. Smith’s seminal debut album Horses was released shortly after, produced by The Velvet Underground’s John Cale.

Her most commercially successful album, ‘Easter’, was released in 1978 and featured the hit ‘Because the Night’, written by Bruce Springsteen. For most of the 1980s, Smith lived in Michigan in semi-retirement from music, eventually moving back to New York in the 1990s following the death of her husband, Fred Sonic Smith and her brother Todd.

Smith has regularly released music since the 1990s, including collaborations with R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. Her most recent album, ‘Banga’, dropped in 2012 and featured a track dedicated to Amy Winehouse. In 2010, the punk poet released her acclaimed memoir ‘Just Kids’, followed by ‘M Train’ in 2015 and ‘Year of the Monkey’ in 2018.

The singer has had a massive impact on music, with artists ranging from U2 to Florence and the Machine citing Smith as an influence. Smith has frequently discussed her own influences, which include poets such as Jean Genet and Arthur Rimbaud and musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez and Jim Morrison.