| Code | DS/UK/19317 |
| Name | Smith; Patti (30 December 1946); American singer songwriter, musician, author, and poet |
| Variations of Name | Patricia Lee Smith |
| Dates | 30 December 1946 |
| Gender | Female |
| Place of Birth/Origin | Chicago, Illinois, United States (born) |
| Relationships | Daughter of Beverly Smith (jazz singer, later waitress) and Grant Smith (Honeywell plant machinist). The family was of part-Irish ancestry
Wife of Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitarist) (m.1980-until his death in 1994)
Mother of Jesse Smith and Jackson Smith (who married Meg White, The White Stripes drummer)
Former partner of Allen Lanier (musician) |
| Biography | Patti Smith is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and poet who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses. Called the "punk poet laureate," Smith fused rock and poetry in her work. Her most widely known song is "Because the Night," which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen. It reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978 and number five in the U.K.
In 2010, Smith won the National Book Award for her memoir Just Kids. The book fulfilled a promise she had made to her former long-time roommate and partner, Robert Mapplethorpe. She placed 47th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest Artists published in 2010 and was also a recipient of the 2011 Polar Music Prize. |