Patti Smith

Born in Chicago in 1946 and the oldest of four siblings, Patti Smith grew up in New Jersey. From an early age she gravitated toward the arts, Tibetan culture, and human rights issues. She studied at Glassboro State Teachers' College and moved to New York City in 1967. While Smith pursued poetry, she also teamed up with art student Robert Mapplethorpe and the two encouraged each other's work progress as they pursued painting and drawing. In February of 1971, Smith performed her first public reading at St.

Born in Chicago in 1946 and the oldest of four siblings, Patti Smith grew up in New Jersey. From an early age she gravitated toward the arts, Tibetan culture, and human rights issues. She studied at Glassboro State Teachers' College and moved to New York City in 1967. While Smith pursued poetry, she also teamed up with art student Robert Mapplethorpe and the two encouraged each other's work progress as they pursued painting and drawing.

In February of 1971, Smith performed her first public reading at St. Mark's Church on the lower eastside, accompanied by Lenny Kaye on guitar. In April of the same year, she co-wrote and performed the play Cowboy Mouth with playwright Sam Shepard. Continuing to write and perform her poetry, in 1974 she and Lenny Kaye added Richard Sohl on piano. As a trio they played regularly around New York. After recruiting guitarist Ivan Kral and drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, the Patti Smith Group was complete. They were signed by Clive Davis to his fledgling Arista label. Together they produced four albums: Horses, Radio Ethiopia, Easter, which included their top twenty hit "Because the Night," and Wave.

After marrying, moving to Detroit, producing two children, and being widowed, Smith re-emerged as a performer. She opened for Bob Dylan and by 1997 she had formed a new band with Lenny Kaye, Jay Dee Daugherty, Oliver Ray and Tony Shanahan. She and the group tour regularly and participate in benefit work, including the Neil Young Bridge School, Jewel Heart, and the Tibet House Foundation. The song "1959" from their album Peace and Noise, written by Smith and Shanahan, was nominated for a Grammy in 1998.

Smith is the author of Witt, Babel, Wool Gathering, The Coral Sea and Complete, a catalog of lyrics, photographs, illustrations, original artwork and reflections. Her drawings have been exhibited at the Robert Miller Gallery in New York, The Photographic Resource Center at Boston University, the Museum Eki in Kyoto, Galerie Baudoin Lebon in Paris, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She is strongly involved in social issues, a supporter of Ralph Nader and the Green Party and also participates in various human rights organizations. Smith is also finishing a book for Harper-Collins on her growth as an artist and her friendship with Robert Maplethorpe.

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1/4/03: Patti Smith

Legendary poet/rocker Patti Smith dazzles with an “unplugged” acoustic program of original music and poetry.

Patti Smith

Legendary poet/rocker Patti Smith dazzles with an “unplugged” acoustic program of original music and poetry.

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