Patti Smith

American poet, singer, songwriter and punk princess of New York where she arrived in 1967 to evolve a form of rock 'n' roll poetry. In September 1971 she began to attract a cult following when she went into print with two volumes of writing and poems entitled "Seventh Heaven" and "Witt." She was soon known as a symbol of new wave poetry and music with a fiercely individualistic style. Her debut album, entitled "Horses," was released in 1975 and sold an estimated 350,000 copies, still selling several hundred copies a week in 2002, making it possibly one of the best-selling albums of all time.

The next decade saw her produce only one album, "Dream Of Life." She disappeared from the scene again until 18 June 1996 when she put out her first album in eight years, "Gone Again;" the most powerful rock album of the year. In November 1997, Smith released another album entitled "Peace and Noise." The work was not met with critical acclaim, but rather was decorated with such words as "dirgelike" and "funereal."

She was the third daughter of a factory worker and waitress and her house was always filled with diverse music. She married guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith, had two children; a son Jackson, and a daughter, Jesse. Smith was widowed in November 1994 after 14 years of marriage when Fred died of heart failure. One month later her younger brother, Todd, also died of a heart attack. At the beginning of 1995 Patti moved back to New York City where she settled in a small townhouse at the edge of Greenwich Village. It has been home for many years to her and her companion, musician Oliver Ray, who joined her band in 1996.

Called the "punk poet laureate", Smith fused rock and poetry in her work. Smith's most widely known song is "Because the Night", which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen. The song reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978.