Patricia Lee Smith was born in 1946 (which means she'll turn 70 this year and is another in a long list of reminders that I'm getting old) in Chicago, and her career has not followed the usual rock and roll trajectory. She started out as the "Punk Poet Laureate." married Fred "Sonic" Smith (of the MC5 and "Kick Out the Jams, Motherfuckers" fame--another fine music addition from Detroit), had two children, and settled into a semi-retirement of domestic bliss, watched her husband die all too young in 1994, and opened a new chapter both musically and in her writing, and through it all she remained one of the most activist performers ever (AIDS, war protests, anti-Israeli terrorism, political prisoners, women's rights, etc.). You would be hard pressed to name a woman that has been more influential for female rock and rollers than Patti Smith, other than Joni Mitchell, and to an extent Aretha Franklin and Carole King. And you'd find it even harder to find anyone (other than the Godfather of Punk, Lou Reed) who was more influential on a music genre than Patti Smith was for the punk, new wave, and alternative movements. And for this, she's rightfully got a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a special place in the hearts of anybody who likes their music a bit on the esoteric side.
And did I mention that for many years she made her home right here in my adopted home, Detroit, Michigan?
Released on her Easter album in 1978, "Because the Night" would go on to become the biggest hit of Smith's career, reaching #13 (with a bullet!) on The Billboard Hot 100. The history behind the song is a story in itself--originally recorded (though not finished) by Bruce Springsteen for his Darkness on the Edge of Town LP, Springsteen gave up on the song and his engineer/producer, Jimmy Iovine, who was simultaneously working on Smith's Easter album liked the song and had Smith try it--she rewrote the lyrics (other than the chorus) and the rest was history. Springsteen has been known to play his and Smith's version live to this day.
And believe you me, musically when you hear the song it is most definitely a Springsteen composition. Power chords, driving rhythm, laying it all on the line vocals--but in the end the song belongs to Smith, becomes hers. Her vocals are probably the most confident of any she's ever done, and the Patti Smith Band's playing is tight and solid around her performance. Springsteen ended up not putting the song on his album because he said it was just another love song--I'm not sure how often Springsteen has been wrong in this world, but he missed this song by a mile. In Smith's hands it is anything but just another love song--it's a testament to the good and the bad of the hold that love takes on us all, all done while driving 110 mph.
Lyric sheet: "With love we sleep/With doubt the vicious circle/Turns and burns..."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
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