Smith's debut album ushered in a new era of rock and roll. Critic Ken Tucker reviews the new anniversary edition of Horses, plus we listen back to Terry Gross' 1996 and 2010 interviews with Smith.
It was in 1967, on her first day in New York, that 20-year-old aspiring poet Patti Smith met fellow artist Robert Mapplethorpe. Their friendship, romance and creative collaboration began on that day and lasted until Mapplethorpe's death in 1989.
Singer and poet, Patti Smith. Her new CD, "Gone Again" (Arista), is inspired by the passing of her musician-husband, Fred "Sonic" Smith of the MC5, and her brother, Todd. They died weeks apart in the fall of 1994. Her first four albums, recorded in the 1970s, established Smith as skinny "Godmother" of punk. Through the 1980s, while raising her children in a Detroit suburb, Smith recorded one album but made plans to record new music with Fred in the summer of 1995.
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
(1.) LENNY KAYE. He’s Patti Smith's longtime guitarist and his first solo album, called Goin’ Local will be released next week. It features his own songs. He’s written several books related to rock n roll history, including his latest, Lightning Striking, about ten transformative periods in rock history and the cities they originated in. His record anthology Nuggets: Original Artyfacts of the First Psychedelic Era,1965-68, inspired many first generation punk rockers.Early in his career, Kaye was a rock critic. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES THROUGH TO THE END OF THE SHOW).