Patti Smith is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and poet….who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses…..as she was called the “punk poet laureate”….while fusing rock and poetry in her work….with her most widely known song being “Because the Night”….which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen….as it reached # 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978….while being # 5 in the U.K.
In 2005, Smith was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture…..and in 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On November 17, 2010, Smith won the National Book Award for her memoir Just Kids…..as the book fulfilled a promise she had made to her former long-time roommate and partner, Robert Mapplethorpe. She placed 47th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of 100 Greatest Artists published in December 2010….and was also a recipient of the 2011 Polar Music Prize.
