Patti Smith

Patti Smith, born in 1946, American poet, rock singer, and songwriter, whose risk-taking performances and punk sensibility made her a significant influence in popular music.

Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois. As a child she lived in Paris and London before settling in New York in the 1960s and establishing a reputation as a poet. In 1971 she began public recitations of her poetry accompanied by guitarist Lenny Kaye. In 1973 Richard Sohl was joining these performances on piano, and the following year drummer Jay Dee Daugherty was added to the lineup, named the Patti Smith Group. Smith’s album Horses (1975) was followed by Radio Ethiopia (1976), Easter (1978), and Waves (1979). Easter included the single “Because the Night,” co-written with Bruce Springsteen.

After a period in retirement, Smith recorded the albums Dream of Life (1988), Peace and Noise (1997), Gung Ho (2000), Land (2002), and Trampin’ (2004). Her books include the poetry collections Witt, Seventh Heaven (both 1972), and Babel (1979), and a collection of short stories, Wool Gathering (1993). In 1972 she co-wrote the play Cowboy Mouth with Sam Shepard.