Patricia Lee Smith, an American singer-songwriter, poet, painter, and author, made a significant impression on the New York City punk rock scene with her debut album Horses in 1975. Patricia Lee Smith was born on December 30, 1946.
After graduating from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) in 1967, she moved to Manhattan in New York City. She met photographer Robert Mapplethorpe there while working at a bookstore with her poet friend Janet Hamill.
She and Mapplethorpe had a passionate relationship that was difficult because of Mapplethorpe’s sexual orientation and their common challenges with poverty.
Smith names Mapplethorpe among the most important people in her life in her book Just Kids, referring to him as “the artist of my life.”
How did Patti Smith get famous?
Patti Smith’s poetic lyrics and performance approach had a significant impact on a great number of subsequent performers, particularly in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her aesthetic is most notable in the music of the iconic new-wave band Blondie.
It is impossible to dispute Smith’s significance as a lyricist and a key player in the punk rock movement. It’s also crucial to keep in mind that she was among the first female punks to venture into the more intense subgenre, and she did so with admirable assurance.
A generation of female rock musicians were motivated to pursue their dreams by her legacy.
