Short Biography

Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, poet and artist who was a highly influential component of the punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses. Called the "Godmother of Punk", she integrated the beat poetry performance style with three-chord rock. Her allusions introduced American teens to 19th century French poetry while her "unladylike" language defied the disco era. Smith is most widely known for the song "Because the Night", which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen and reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. In 2005, Patti Smith was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, and in 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Smith was born in Chicago. Her mother, Beverly, was a jazz singer and her father, Grant, worked at the Honeywell plant. She spent her entire childhood in Deptford, New Jersey. Raised the daughter of a Jehovah`s Witness mother, she claims she had a strong religious education and a very good Bible education, but left organized religion as a teenager because she felt it was too confining and much later wrote the opening line ("Jesus died for somebody`s sins, but not mine") of her cover version of Them`s "Gloria" in response to this experience. Smith graduated from Deptford Township High School in 1964. The family was not well-off, and Smith went to work in a factory. Patti Smith was voted "Class Clown" in her senior year.

Miscellaneous Information

Friends and Family

Bebe Buell [Friend] (Patti talked Bebe into doing Playboy)

Duncan Hannah [Friend]

Who's Dated Who content is contributed and edited by our readers. Please report errors or omissions on this page.