Patti Smith – Punk Poet
-
Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Patti Smith
TaraDeS — 4 months ago(November 15, 2025 07:02 AM)
Patti Smith – one of the few female Music Icons
She confidently ventured into a male-dominated scene in the 1970s:
Patti Smith earned the respect of rockers, poets and artists with her work.
Patti Smith in the early 1970s.
That rock music has a problem with women is nothing new. While even today the names of all-male bands primarily fill the advertising posters of major festivals, fans in the late 1960s and early 1970s already adored all-male groups. The Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks, the Beach Boys. Later, the Sex Pistols, the Ramones or the New York Dolls.
Where women appeared, they were (leastwise at first glance) gentle figures with guitars like Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, or rock sirens whose very being a woman acted as a provocation and a selling point – Nico in the Velvet Underground, Grace Slick in Jefferson Airplane, Joan Jett, Janis Joplin. And then there was Patti Smith.
Patti Smith takes Punk seriously
Patti Smith was different. The petite young woman from Illinois with her jet-black hair and expressive eyes simply adopted the attitude of her male counterparts without a second thought. Instead of tight leather or miniskirts, she stood on stage in white men's shirts and black jeans, preferring to appear cool rather than sexy, and that's precisely what made her sexy.
She wrote explicit lyrics, fearlessly, but in such a poetic way that it never came across as pure provocation. Drugs, sex, music, famous poets, religion — everything appeared in Patti Smith's songs, angering some and thrilling many. With the song
"Gloria"
a radical reinterpretation of the Van Morrison hit of the same name, she finally captured the attention of the scene.
Patti Smith performed like a Rocker – not a Rockeress
Smith was in a relationship with New York photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who came out as gay shortly after their relationship began. Later, she was in a relationship with Blue Öyster Cult musician Allen Lanier. In 1980, she married MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith. They had two children, Jackson and Jesse, who regularly accompany her on stage today.
Their son Jackson was married to White Stripes frontwoman Meg White for a while, but is now in a relationship with someone else and is a father himself. Fred Smith died in 1994 at the age of only 46 from heart disease. Patti Smith dedicated the heartbreaking song
"Frederick"
to him. She later wrote the hit
"Because the Night"
for Bruce Springsteen.
Patti Smith always knew how to cultivate friendships and earn the respect of other artists. Even Bob Dylan, notoriously selective in choosing his few confidants, appreciates her. She represented the now 84-year-old Dylan when he accepted the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016. On her 2007 album
"Twelve"
consisting entirely of cover versions of her favourite songs, she sang Dylan's
"Changing of the Guards"
as well as Nirvana's
"Smells Like Teen Spirit"
and R.E.M.'s
"Everybody Hurts"
.
Today, Patti Smith writes Bestsellers
Patti Smith still rebels today — by wearing her hair as gray as it naturally is at 78 and by forgoing the cosmetic surgeries common among celebrities. She lives in New York with cats, records and numerous notebooks and can often be found in various cozy coffee shops.
She remains relevant to this day – through her social activism, regular tours and the writing of highly successful, largely autobiographical books. With
"Just Kids"
and
"M Train"
she made bestsellers and casually revealed that she's a member of an obscure fan club of the German geoscientist Alfred Wegener (1880–1930).
"It took a decade to write this book, grappling with the beauty and sorrow of a lifetime." (Bread of Angels)
Now her new novel was published:
"Bread of Angels"
It's once again an autobiographical work, but instead of taking readers into her wild youth or fascinating present, she takes them back to her childhood. It's already widely praised as her most personal book.
https://www.stern.de/kultur/musik/patti-smith---eine-von-wenigen-weiblichen-musik-ikonen-31461888.html
November 11, 2025
A true and strong woman she is.
PATTI SMITH (1979) Frederick -
TaraDeS — 4 months ago(November 19, 2025 05:31 AM)
by /.ㅤ November 16, 2025 02:36 AM
Member since January 25, 2022
A strange and unusual voice.
Fo Jizzle November 16, 2025 03:16 AM
Member since November 5, 2018
She's always looked like a junkie tranny
Patti Smith (1978) Because the Night
Good Morning!