Patti Smith
Patti Smith is a singer, songwriter, poet and memoirist whose work brings rock music and poetry together, from Horses to Just Kids and Bread of Angels.
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Latest
Patti’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus her backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Overview
- Born
- December 30, 1946 · Chicago, Illinois
- Creative home
- Moved to New York City in 1967
- Works across
- Rock music, poetry, memoir and photography
- Breakout
- Horses, her 1975 debut album
Mini bio
How it started.
Born in Chicago and raised in South Jersey, Patti moved to New York City in 1967. Her collaboration with guitarist Lenny Kaye began in 1971. Her first poetry collection, Seventh Heaven, appeared in 1972.
Poetry meets rock.
Horses arrived in 1975, putting poetry at the center of her rock music. “Because the Night,” cowritten with Bruce Springsteen and featured on Easter, later brought her to a wider radio audience.
A life in books.
Just Kids looks back at her friendship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and their development as artists. It won the 2010 National Book Award for Nonfiction. Bread of Angels widens the story to her childhood, marriage to Fred “Sonic” Smith, family life and grief.
Still making connections.
Patti continues to write and perform. With Soundwalk Collective, she contributes poetry and her voice to Correspondences, a project connecting landscapes, history and environmental change.
Creditschronological, newest first
Music
- 2025Horses (50th Anniversary)Recording artist
- 1988Dream of LifeSinger; cowriter of “People Have the Power” with Fred “Sonic” Smith
- 1978EasterSinger; cowriter of “Because the Night” with Bruce Springsteen
- 1975HorsesSinger and songwriter
Books
- 2025Bread of AngelsAuthor
- 2010Just KidsAuthor
Art and performance
- 2025Correspondences at kurimanzutto, New YorkCollaborating poet and performer with Soundwalk Collective
Awards
Quotes
The poet may stand alone, but in merging with a band, surrenders to the wonder of teamwork.Patti Smith, Bread of Angels, quoted by Sony Music
Shared in the announcement of the fiftieth anniversary edition of Horses.
Trivia
- She wrote “People Have the Power” with her husband, Fred “Sonic” Smith.
- Her son, guitarist Jackson Smith, has played in her band.
- Her first concert in Spain was on October 20, 1976, exactly fifty years before the 2026 Gijón anniversary event.
Find Patti
Follow her songs, photographs and words.
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