Patti Smith

Born in Chicago, raised in South Jersey, and emerging in the nascent cultural hotbed of mid-70s New York City, Patti Smith forged a reputation as one of the decade’s first visionary artists—merging poetry and rock in vital new ways. Her 1975 debut album, Horses, is routinely ranked as one of the greatest albums of all time, and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress. In 2007, she was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

Smith’s many albums include Horses, Radio Ethiopia, Easter, Wave, Dream of Life, Gone Again, Peace and Noise, Gung Ho, Trampin’, Land, Twelve, Banga, and Outside Society. Her song “Because the Night,” co-written with Bruce Springsteen, shot up to number 13 on the Billboard Top 100, and her song “People Have the Power,” cowritten with her late husband Fred “Sonic” Smith, was number 22 on NME magazine’s Singles of the Year. In 2011, Patti Smith was listed amongst the TIME 100 most influential people in the world, as well as one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists. She is a four-time Grammy nominee and a Golden Globe nominee for the song “Mercy Is,” cowritten with Lenny Kaye for the film Noah.

Patti Smith was awarded the prestigious 2010 National Book Award for her bestselling memoir, Just Kids, chronicling her deep friendship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and the evolution of their work. Her books include Witt, Babel, Woolgathering, The Coral Sea, Auguries of Innocence, Collected Lyrics, M Train, Devotion and Year of the Monkey. A Book of Days, featuring 365 images and reflections, was published in November 2022.

Smith holds the honor of “Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres” from the French Ministry of Culture. In 2007 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She was honored by ASCAP with the Founders Award in 2010, representing lifetime achievement, and was the recipient of Sweden’s 2011 Polar Award, an international acknowledgement for significant achievements in music. In 2013, Smith received the Katharine Hepburn Medal from Bryn Mawr College, recognizing women whose contributions embody the drive and work ethic of the celebrated actress. In 2014, Barnard College Board of Trustees presented Patti Smith with their Medal of Distinction. In 2016, she was awarded the Burke Medal for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Trinity College, Dublin.

Smith’s photographs, drawings, and installations have been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide. Coupled with her photography exhibit Higher Learning, Smith received the Laurea Magistrate causa  from Parma, Italy and an honorary doctorate in Euro-American Literature from Padova University. She was awarded The Badge of the Austrian Decoration of Science and Art in 2019.

In 2020, Smith received the literary service prize from PEN America and the Wall Street Journal acknowledged her as a Literature Innovator and in May 2022 received the Doctor of Humane Letters from Columbia University as well as receiving the distinction of being named an Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honor by decree of the President of the French Republic.

Her renowned band includes guitarist and author Lenny Kaye, who she has collaborated with since 1971, drummer Jay Dee Daugherty since 1975, Tony Shanahan on bass and keyboards, since 1996, and her son, guitarist Jackson Smith, for over a decade.

Aside from writing, performing, and visual arts, Smith actively supports human-rights issues and environmental groups, primarily Pathway to Paris, a nonprofit organization co-founded by her daughter, Jesse Paris Smith, offering tangible solutions for combatting global climate.  She resides in New York City.  She is a featured writer on Substack, where her twice-weekly writings and readings can be subscribed to online.