With her 1975 debut album Horses, Patricia Lee Smith—an American singer-songwriter, poet, painter, and author—became a significant figure in the New York City punk rock scene. Patricia Lee Smith was born on December 30, 1946.
Smith, known as the “punk poet laureate,” combined poetry with music in her work. The song “Because the Night,” which she co-wrote with Bruce Springsteen, is her most well-known. In 1978, it peaked at position 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and position 5 in the UK. The French Ministry of Culture honoured Smith with the title of Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2005. She was admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Who is Patti Smith husband Fred Smith?
Before the publication of Wave, Smith—who is currently divorced from her longtime lover Allen Lanier—met guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith, formerly of the Detroit rock band MC5, and his own band, Sonic’s Rendezvous Band, who shared her love of poetry.
He was the subject of Wave’s “Dancing Barefoot” (which was influenced by Jeanne Hébuterne and her tragic love for Amedeo Modigliani) and “Frederick.” At the time, it was a common joke that she only married Fred so she wouldn’t have to alter her name.
They had a daughter, Jesse Paris (born 1987), who is also a musician and songwriter, and a son, Jackson (born 1982), who later married The White Stripes drummer Meg White in 2009.
Smith lived with her family in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, just north of Detroit, where she spent most of the 1980s in a semi-retired state from music. The song “People Have the Power” was included on her album Dream of Life, which was published in June 1988.
On November 4, 1994, Fred Smith passed away from a heart attack. Patti had to deal with her brother Todd’s sudden death not long after that.
