Biography
The Patti Smith Group was the band led by poet and singer Patti Smith, who was born in Chicago in 1946 and raised in New Jersey.[1][2] After moving to New York in 1967 she formed a creative partnership with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe, and she became a central figure in the city's punk scene with her debut album Horses in 1975.[2][3]
The group's fourth album, Wave, appeared in 1979 and was the last released under the band's name. Smith had by then met Fred "Sonic" Smith, formerly of the Detroit band MC5, whom she married; she withdrew from music to raise a family in the Detroit area and did not release another album until 1988.[4][5] Fred Smith died in 1994, and she returned to performing afterward.[6]
References
- Patti Smith - Biography.com — Birth, early life and career overview.
- Patti Smith - Wikipedia — Career overview including Horses and her later life.
- Patti Smith biography - POV — Her move to New York and partnership with Robert Mapplethorpe.
- Wave (Patti Smith Group album) — Recording details, credits, release, chart position, critical reception and the song's background.
- Hello & Goodbye: Patti Smith's Wave at 40 — Retrospective on Wave, the choice of Rundgren, Fred Smith, and the album's themes.
- Patti Smith - Publishers Weekly review of an unauthorized biography — Notes her years in Detroit and return to rock after Fred Smith's death in 1994.