Patti Smith (real name - Patricia Lee Smith is an American musician, songwriter, and poet. She was born on December 30, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Woodbury, New Jersey.

In 1967 she left New Jersey for good, moved to New York City. n 1969 Smith appeared with Wayne County in Jackie Curtis's play "Femme Fatale". As a member of the St. Mark's Poetry Project, she spent the early '70s painting, writing, and performing. She collaborated with Allen Lanier of Blue Öyster Cult, who recorded several of the songs to which Smith had contributed, including "Debbie Denise", "Career of Evil", "Fire of Unknown Origin", "The Revenge of Vera Gemini" and "Shooting Shark".

By 1974, Patti Smith was performing rock music herself, initially with guitarist and rock archivist Lenny Kaye and later with a full band comprising Kaye, Ivan Kral (guitar), Jay Dee Daugherty (drums) and Richard Sohl (piano). Financed by Robert Mapplethorpe, the band recorded a first single, "Piss Factory/Hey Joe," in 1974.

Smith came to prominence prior to the Punk movement with her 1975 debut album "Horses." Called "Punk's Poet Laureate", she integrated the Beat poetry performance style with garage-band Rock & Roll; her allusions introduced 19th Century French poetry to American teens, while her androgynous public persona and unladylike language defied the Disco era. From the underground, Patti Smith has become one of rock and roll's most influential musicians.

Smith's commercial success has been limited in that she has never had an RIAA certified record and has had just three Top 20 singles (One each on the Hot 100, Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts). However, "Rolling Stone" magazine placed her at no 47 in its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. On March 12, 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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