Patti Smith: an Unauthorized Biography - Hardcover

Bockris, Victor; Bayley, Roberta; Smith, Patti

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0684823632 ISBN 13: 9780684823638

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd, 1999

Synopsis

"Patti Smith" came to New York at the age of nineteen, determined to become someone. And she did -- with a vengeance. Patti's intensely dramatic style, her sensuality, and her outrageous acts set her apart from other performers of the 1970s. She was an astonishingly bold and powerful artist. In "Patti Smith," Victor Bockris, the much-respected biographer of Lou Reed and Keith Richards, and Roberta Bayley present the first full-length biography of one of the most revered female rock artists of all time -- as well as a fascinating portrait of the frenzied New York scene in which she rocketed to fame. From her roots in New Jersey to her reemergence after the death of her husband in the 1990s, this remarkable biography documents Patti Smith's life within the larger context of the ebullient artistic climate of the 1970s and examines her influence on the generation of women artists who followed. Bockris and Bayley explore Patti's complicated and intriguing relationships with Robert Mapplethorpe and Sam Shepard and her friendships with Bob Dylan, John Cale, Lou Reed, and many other avant-garde musicians and artists, placing her at the heart of the New York art scene. But as quickly as she rose to acclaim, she did the unexpected: She dropped out of sight and moved to Detroit to marry and raise a family. Filled with little-known stories and anecdotes about some of rock's most famous names, Bockris and Bayley's stunning profile of this cultural icon confirms what ingrid Sischy wrote in an article in "Interview" magazine: "[Smith] gives us something that music and words are supposed to but, in fact, rarely deliver: the power to transport ourselves."

About this title

Review:

Victor Bockris is now best known for his studies of Muhammad Ali, William Burroughs, and Andy Warhol, but a In an earlier incarnation he was responsible for publishing a book of poems entitled Seventh Heaven by a young unknown named Patti Smith. He's therefore well placed to chart the rise of that fledging poet as she turned to music, recorded the timeless 1975 album Horses, and became the instantly familiar, thrillingly gaunt face of New York's artsy version of punk.

Bockris knows 1970s Manhattan Bohemia like the back of his hand, and Patti Smith provides the perfect entree. When your lovers include playwright Sam Shepard and legendary musos Tom Verlaine and Todd Rundgren, and your flatmate's a 19-year-old wannabe named Robert Mapplethorpe, there's plenty to write home about. But Smith soon dropped out in favour of a family life in the suburbs of Detroit, bringing up two children, and supporting her husband (MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith) until his death from alcohol in 1994. In so doing, as one wit put it, "She managed to be a rock'n'roll death without having to die."

Quoting extensively from eyewitness accounts of Smith in performance, Bockris captures something of the intensity of this remarkable artist, and contributes in no small part to her current reincarnation. --Alan Stewart

Review:

"Q Magazine" The definitive account of Smith's sporadic, hugely influential achievement.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0684823632
• ISBN 13: 9780684823638
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320