Patti Smith

In 1967, Patti Smith moved from her home in New Jersey to New York City, where she spent the early '70s painting, writing and performing spoken-word poetry. She also dabbled in rock journalism, a career that featured published works in notorious rock magazine 'Creem.'

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Smith and her band, the Patti Smith Group -- guitarist Lenny Kaye, guitarist Ivan Kral, drummer Jay Dee Daugherty and pianist Richard Sohl -- recorded their first single, 'Piss Factory/Hey Joe,' in 1974.

Clive Davis signed Smith to Arista Records and in 1975, the perennial punk rock album, 'Horses' -- featuring one of rock's most famous lines, "Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine," the opening lyric to a cover of Van Morrison's 'Gloria' -- was released.

Smith broke her neck after falling 15 feet into a concrete orchestra pit in Tampa, Florida, in January 1977, while touring behind 'Radio Ethiopia.' The injury forced the musician into an extensive round of physical therapy and rest.

Smith, also called Punk Rock's Poet Laureate, scored her first and only Top 20 hit with 'Because the Night' -- co-written with Bruce Springsteen for her third album, 'Easter' -- in 1978

Following the release of her fourth album, 'Wave,' Smith met MC5 guitarist Fred 'Sonic' Smith. The two married in March 1980 and moved to the suburbs of Detroit, where Patti retired from music in order to focus on her family. She would return eight years later with 'Dream of Life.'

Following the death of her husband and brother in 1994, Smith, with encouragement from friend and R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, as well as poet Allen Ginsberg, returned to music a year later. She toured alongside Bob Dylan and recorded a new album, 'Gone Again,' feauring a tribute to Kurt Cobain called 'About a Boy.'

After releasing 'Gone Again,' Smith released three albums: 1997's 'Peace and Noise,' 2000's 'Gung Ho' and 2004's 'Trampin',' the latter of which featured several songs about motherhood following the death of her own mother two years prior. That album also marked Smith's return to the Billboard 200.

Smith curated one of London's most successful Meltown Festivals ever in 2005, featuring a line-up of musicians and actors hand-picked by the artist herself. The event's highlight came as Smith performed 'Horses' in its entirety for the first time ever. The performance, which featured Television's Tom Verlaine on guitar, was released later that year as 'Horses Horses.'

On October 15, 2006, Smith performed the final show at famed New York venue -- and old stomping ground -- CBGB. Her performance lasted more than three hours, bringing an end to the haunt's 33-year run just after 1 am.

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