Patti Smith

Patti Smith is often confused with Patty Smyth - the former lead singer of the band Scandal.

Re-emergence

After Fred's death in 1994 and the subsequent, unexpected death of her beloved brother Todd later that year, Patti was urged by Michael Stipe and Allen Ginsberg (whom she had known since her early years in New York) to go back out on the road. She toured briefly with Bob Dylan in December 1995 (chronicled in a book of photographs by Stipe). The next year, she worked with her long-time colleagues to record the haunting Gone Again, featuring tributes to her late husband and Kurt Cobain (and almost certainly reflecting, as well, the deaths of Robert Mapplethorpe, Richard Sohl, and Todd Smith). That same year she collaborated with Michael Stipe on "E-Bow the Letter," a song on R.E.M.'s New Adventures in Hi-Fi. During this period, she returned to New York.

Related Topics:
1994 - Michael Stipe - Allen Ginsberg - Gone Again - Kurt Cobain - R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Since the release of Gone Again, the Patti Smith Group has recorded three new albums: Peace and Noise (with the single "1959," about the Chinese invasion of Tibet) in 1997, Gung Ho (with songs about Ho Chi Minh and Smith's late father) in 2000, and Trampin' in 2004. This last album, Smith's first with a new label, Sony, was critically acclaimed and returned her to the Billboard 200 for the first time in years. A boxed set of her work up to that time came out in 1996, and 2002 saw the release of Land, a two-CD compilation that includes a memorable cover of Prince's "When Doves Cry."

Related Topics:
Gone Again - Peace and Noise - Tibet - 1997 - Gung Ho - Ho Chi Minh - 2000 - Trampin' - 2004 - Sony - 1996 - 2002 - Land - Prince

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Smith curated the Meltdown Festival in London, England during June 2005. It was by all accounts one of the most successful Meltdown Festivals ever held, with virtually every event sold out. The line-up, all hand-picked by Smith, comprised an extremely diverse array of actors and musicians, from Tilda Swinton and Miranda Richardson, to the London Sinfonietta, to a Siberian throat-singing group which performed Purple Haze (as part of a tribute to Jimi Hendrix). The festival's penultimate event was a performance by Smith of her debut album Horses in its entirety, the first time she has ever done so. Guitarist Tom Verlaine took Oliver Ray's place.

Related Topics:
Meltdown Festival - London, England - June - 2005 - Tilda Swinton - Miranda Richardson - London Sinfonietta - Throat-singing - Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On July 10, 2005, Smith was named a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Culture Ministry. In addition to her influence on rock and roll, the Ministry also noted Smith's appreciation for Arthur Rimbaud.

Related Topics:
July 10 - Arthur Rimbaud

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050710/ap_en_mu/france_people_smith

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/actualites/communiq/donnedieu/patti_smith.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the course of her career, Smith has published a number of books of poetry, including 1980's Babel; Patti Smith Complete, a collection of her lyrics; Early Work, collecting a number of the small poetry volumes and broadsides she published in the early 1970s; and The Coral Sea, an extended elegy to Mapplethorpe. In 2003 her artwork was exhibited in Pittsburgh at the Andy Warhol Museum.

Related Topics:
1980 - Lyric - Elegy - Pittsburgh - Andy Warhol Museum

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although Smith has never had a RIAA certified record, has had just one Top 20 single, and has yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she is regarded as one of the most influential and important artists in rock history. Rolling Stone magazine recently placed her at #47 in its list of "The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time."

Related Topics:
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Rolling Stone

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~