On December 27, 2021, before her 75th birthday that week, Patti Smith ‘Godmother of Punk’ was awarded the key to NYC by Mayor Bill De Blasio.
In the last week of his tenure, Mayor De Blasio held a press conference in which he honoured Smith along with filmmaker Spike Lee and senator Chuck Schumer. In his speech, De Blasio complimented Smith for possessing “an authenticity that you just don’t find in that many other places” and for having an “ability to cut through all the swirl around us and speak some more profound truths”.
Indicating his affinity for the punk movement of the 1970s, he continued by saying, “Some have called Patti Smith the ‘Godmother of Punk'” and he thinks that it’s an appropriate phrase as “she influenced so many people help shape a whole artistic movement, and in many ways a political movement as well”.
He also praised her work as a musician, a singer, a lyricist and an activist and how it influenced many people to find a way. He mentioned how there are probably a lot of artists out there “who realize what they could do and what they could say because they heard the works of Patti Smith.”
In her speech, Patti joked, “I wish I could give New York City the key to me”. She stated that, to her, NYC “remains the most diverse city in the world”. She also touched on her origins in New York, having moved with “just a few dollars in my pocket, nowhere to stay, no real prospects” from “a rural, rural area of South Jersey” in 1967.
She mentioned how when she moved back to New York after 15 years, in 1994, from Detroit, the city “embraced me again and gave me another chance to rebuild my life and continue to evolve as an artist.”
Patti performed an acoustic version of ‘Ghost Dance’ at the conference with Lenny Kaye, her guitarist from her group ‘Patti Smith Group’, which the mayor commended as “unbelievably powerful to me and among so many others”, and “one that I am, to this hour, moved by”.
A peek into Patti’s Life.
Born on December 30, 1946, in Chicago, Patricia Lee Smith became a prominent figure in the punk rock scene of New York City. Initially working on an assembly line in her former years, she began performing spoken word poetry and later formed her band, ‘Patti Smith Group’ with Lenny Kaye, Ivan Kral, Jay Dee Daugherty and Richard Sohl 1974.
She brought a flair to the grubby world of punk rock. She merged the serenity of poetry with the bohemian rock ‘n’ roll style in her work. Her most famous song is ‘Because the Night’, co-written by Bruce Springsteen. It hit number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978 and number 5 in the U.K.
Her most renowned album is ‘Horses’, which is also her debut studio album, recorded with ‘Patti Smith Group’ and released by Arista Records on November 10, 1975. Produced by John Cale, it fused spoken poetry and punk rock, and begins with a cover of ‘Gloria’ by Van Morrison, the opening words being an excerpt from ‘Oath’, one of Smith’s earlier poems: “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine.” The album’s cover photograph was by Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti’s first real love.
In 1976, she released her second album, ‘Radio Ethiopia’, which she said was influenced by MC5. In 1978, she released her third album ‘Easter’, which became her most commercially famous album with ‘Because of the Night’. In 1979, her fourth album, ‘Wave’, was released, which was comparatively less successful.
Although this album did not gain any significant notice, some of its songs are still impactful.
Following her fourth album, ‘Patti Smith Group’ disbanded, and Patti took a rest to raise a family with her husband, Fred (“Sonic”) Smith of MC5, who tragically died from a heart attack in 1994. Together they had released the album’ Dream of Life’ in 1988.
After his demise, Smith came back with ‘Gone Again’ (1996) followed by ‘Peace and Noise’ (1997). She continued releasing new albums in the 21st century, starting with ‘Gung Ho’ in 2000, ‘Trampin’ in 2004, ‘Twelve’ in 2007 and ‘Banga’ in 2012.
Her recent works only solidify her position as the paradigm of modern punk rock.
Her Accomplishments
In 2005, she was titled Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2010, her memoir ‘Just Kids’ won the National Book Award. The Royal Swedish Academy of Music accorded her the Polar Music Prize in 2011 for her contributions to art and music. In 2016, she accepted Bob Dylan’s Noble Prize for Literature on his behalf.
Four of her songs were nominated for Grammy Awards, and her album ‘Horses’ won the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2021.
Patti Smith is living proof that being an impactful ideal figure does not require you to top any charts. Her powerful charisma, authenticity, free spirit, and distinctiveness can perfectly be reflected in her work.
She jerked awake the world of rock music from its mid- ’70s slumber and became the fulcrum point from where the next generation begins.
The Godmother of Punk not only played a significant role in evolving rock ‘n’ roll but helped save it.
Published By – Royal Roshan Rodrigues
Edited By – Kritika Kashyap
