Patti Smith

Improved Essays
Among the most influential people in the punk rock scene is Patti Smith. Born in Chicago in 1946 she grew up in what many would call the ‘ghetto’. As a young girl, she had problems with gender confusion. She was a very big tomboy and frankly wasn’t very attractive. She eventually moved to New York after her dreams of being an Art Teacher fell through. While living in New York, she met an artist by the name of Robert Mapplethorpe. He eventually came out as homosexual, but they kept a close friendship. She was a very great poet. She chose poetry as her medium of art. She eventually went on to create a successful poetry book. Now that we have an overview of her early life, lets take a look at her musical contribution. Her overall largest musical …show more content…
In 1976 Smith debuted her second album Radio Ethiopia. The album didn’t totally flop, but had nowhere near the popularity of the previous. A short two years later she dropped her third album Easter. This album had one huge hit, Because the Night. Her fourth album flopped and only had mediocre sales. After the drop of this album, a marriage and children, she disappeared for 17 years. She dropped Dream of Life during this time, but the album never took off. The love of her life died from a heart attack in 1994 and this totally revived her musical career. She created another album by the name of Gone Again. Ever since then, Smith has not faded in the punk rock scene. After 35 years and 11 albums, Patti Smith has still got the “it factor”. The genre of the music that she is prominent in has a very huge role in her success. She is a huge figure in punk rock. Punk rock is a rough kind of music, much like Patti herself. She dedicated her life to this music and also the poetry that made it such a success. Ms. Smith has admitted that she doesn’t play many instruments. She does play a little guitar, but she is widely known as more of a singer. She does not identify as a musician, but more as an artist or a

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