Patti Smith is a popular rock singer. She is often referred to as the "godmother of punk rock". Thanks to the debut album Horses, the nickname appeared. This record played a significant role in the creation of punk rock.
Patti Smith made her first creative steps back in the 1970s on the stage of the New York club CBG. Concerning the visiting card of the singer, this is, of course, the track Because the Night. The composition was recorded with the participation of Bruce Springsteen. The song peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 100.
In 2005, Patti was awarded the French Order of Arts and Letters. A few years later, the celebrity's name was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The childhood and youth of Patricia Lee Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (real name of the singer) was born December 30, 1946 in Chicago. It is obvious that Patti Smith's singing talent was passed on to her from her mother, Beverly Smith. At one time, the mother of the future celebrity worked as a waitress and singer.
Father Grant Smith was not associated with creativity. He worked in a factory. Patty has siblings. The Smith family lived in Chicago until 1949. Then they moved to the provincial town of Woodbury.
In her interviews, the celebrity mentioned that she had a difficult relationship with her classmates. The best thing to say is that Patty didn't have any friends. Instead of spending time playing with friends, she listened to music and read books.
The girl's favorite poet was the Frenchman Arthur Rimbaud, and the singer was Jimi Hendrix. As a teenager, the girl was interested in the culture of beatniks and studied the literary works of this trend.
After graduating from high school, Patti studied in Glassboro. With study it did not work out from the first days. The fact is that the girl found out that she was pregnant. After the baby was born, Smith gave it up for adoption.
Patti Smith did not see herself as a mother. She pursued completely different goals - to get a job, conquer New York and perform on stage. She managed to fully realize her plans in 1967.
Patti Smith: Finding Yourself
In New York, she quickly found work in a bookstore. By the way, this is where I met Robert Mapplethorpe. The couple had a love relationship, and this despite the rumors about Robert's homosexuality.
A few years later, Smith left for Paris, where she lived for about two years. The girl earned her living by performing and in parallel with this she studied fine arts.
Patti Smith soon returned to New York. She continued to live under the same roof as Mapplethorpe. In the same period of time, the girl actively built her career in drama and poetry. Patti took part in the performances of Sam Shepard and worked on poems.
Some time later, Patti Smith met Lenny Kay. After a meaningful dialogue, they realized that their musical tastes coincide. Lenny and Patty decided to create a joint project. So, Smith read poetry, and Lenny played the guitar. Their tandem turned out to be bright and meaningful. Talented people were quickly noticed by the public.
Creative career of Patti Smith
Over time, the duet took a special place on the stage. At the very beginning, Patti and Lenny had to resort to the service of session musicians. Later they agreed that the team needed to be expanded.
In the spring of 1974, Smith and Lenny were joined by Richard Saul. With the help of Rob Mapplethorpe, the trio released their first musical composition (before that they had only released cover versions) Electric Lady. For recording, Smith invited another guitarist, Tom Verlaine, to the team.
Gradually the team expanded. After successful concerts, Ivan Krol joined the band, in February 1975 - JD Doherty. The latter took the place of the drummer.
Presentation of the debut album Patti Smith
In the mid-1970s, the group's discography was replenished with a debut album. The collection was called Horses. The title track was well received by both music lovers and music critics. A good debut album provided the musicians with the organization of concerts in the USA and Europe.
The musicians did not stand still. Soon the discography of the team was replenished with the second studio album. The record was called Radio Ethiopia. The songs on this album were harder in sound.
In 1977 disaster struck. Patti Smith broke several vertebrae as a result of a fall during a performance. The celebrity was forced to leave the stage. She wanted to recuperate in peace and quiet. Forced rest resulted in a collection of poems Babel. After a full recovery, the singer recorded her third album, Easter.
1979 was an incredibly eventful year. Patti Smith presented the fans with the new album Wave. The title track of the new collection was the track Because the Night. The composition Dancing Barefoot, which was also included in the list of the disc, quickly "burst" into the top known songs.
Soon Patti Smith had a chance to meet Frederick Smith (then the guitarist played in the MS5 group). Patti and Frederick were so passionate about each other that an ordinary friendship grew into a love relationship. Patti dedicated the musical composition Frederic to the man.
Decreased interest in the work of Patti Smith
In the early 1980s, the Patti Smith band fell on hard times. The fact is that public interest in punk culture began to decline rapidly. In 1980, the team announced the breakup. Patti Smith disappeared from the scene around 1996.
After 16 years, Patti returned from Detroit to New York. The celebrity began performing on stage with new poems. Then the singer announced that she wants to reunite the Patty Smith Group. Before this event, Patty and Bob Dylan went on a joint tour.
A new member, Oliver Ray, joined the group along with the deceased Richard Soule. With him and Jeff Buckley, the team released several albums that were radically different from each other. We are talking about the records Gone Again and Peace and Noise. Positive and rosy notes were clearly audible in the first disc. And in the second - a melancholic mood due to the death of William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg.
The following years were also rich in interesting events. In early 2006, they closed the club, which began the formation of Patti Smith as a singer. We are talking about the institution CBGB. The club was closed at the request of people living nearby. According to eyewitnesses, the music interfered with normal rest.
In their native walls, the Patti Smith Group staged a performance that lasted several hours. A year later, the singer received her award in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and dedicated it to her husband.
Personal life of Patti Smith
Patti Smith had a baby while still in college. However, she chose not to disclose her father's name.
The biggest love in the life of the famous singer was Fred Sonic Smith. The couple legalized their relationship on March 1, 1980. They were engaged in creativity together, but their tracks were not intended for popular culture.
Their family was exemplary. They raised two children. They could not live without each other, and therefore they tried not to leave the house for a long time. But suddenly the quiet family life was interrupted by the death of her husband. The man died in 1994 from heart failure.
The loss of her husband is not the only tragedy of Patti Smith. She lost many loved ones, including: Richard Soule, Robert Mapplethorpe and younger brother Todd.
Patti Smith took the loss hard. The singer closed herself in for a long time. She didn't want to be on stage. She announced that she would return only when the grief of loss ceased to cripple her soul.
Smith showed all the experiences of her personal life in her work. In 2008, the biographical film Dream of Life was released. And in 2010 - the book "Just Kids", dedicated to Mapplethorpe. In 2011, she began writing the book The M Train. The memoirs were published only in 2016.
Patti Smith today
In 2018, the performer traveled to several countries with her team. At the same time, fans began to watch with interest the attempts of a celebrity to maintain a profile on Instagram. For several months she tried to take photographs.
Judging by Patti Smith's Instagram, in 2019 she plunged headlong into poetry. On her page you can find new verses.
In 2020, it became known that the singer would visit the capital of Ukraine - Kyiv. An evening of talk and music with Patti Smith and Tony Shanahan will take place on August 29 at the Ivan Franko Theatre.
