2007
Zach de la Rocha
Patti Smith’s potent blend of poetic lyricism, rock & roll energy, and outsider fury redefined the cultural landscape in 1975, paving the way for punk and inspiring countless risk-taking artists. Top 40 radio embraced her Springsteen co-write “Because the Night,” while her core audience adored her riveting stage persona. After a sabbatical, she returned in the ‘90s to blaze more trails, continuing to craft timeless art, including her acclaimed memoir, Just Kids.
Induction
Impact
Signature Sound
Patti Smith boldly fused poetic expression with raw rock & roll, paving the way for literate, uncompromising punk. Her take-no-prisoners delivery and bold androgyny challenged gender norms. Ascending from New York’s bohemia , she showcased authenticity over polish, emotional honesty over convention. After a hiatus to raise her family, she returned stronger than ever, inspiring yet another generation.
Mixing Van Morrison’s song with her own hallucinatory poetry, Smith and her band changed everything with this transgressive track.
From the Museum
Patti's Re-Boot
Since her shirt-and-tie look on the cover of 1975’s Horses, Patti Smith’s androgynous style was clear. She wore these boots while touring in the ‘70s, with one held together by duct tape by decade’s end.
Describing her style as “expensive bum,” she prefers Jimmy Choo boots: “I like quality. And I have enough money now, which I hadn't at other times in my life, to buy a fine pair of boots.”
From the Museum
Patti's Re-Boot
Since her shirt-and-tie look on the cover of 1975’s Horses, Patti Smith’s androgynous style was clear. She wore these boots while touring in the ‘70s, with one held together by duct tape by decade’s end.
Describing her style as “expensive bum,” she prefers Jimmy Choo boots: “I like quality. And I have enough money now, which I hadn't at other times in my life, to buy a fine pair of boots.”
Patti Smith the poet revealed truth regardless of the political and social consequences. She’s fearless in prose, fearless in her losses, fearless in her life.
Zack de la Rocha
Rage Against the Machine
2007 hall of fame essay
"Smith started her own religion, without a true plan to do so, improvising as she went along, opening herself up to the spirit that moved within her."
– Jaan Uhelszki
Paper Artifacts
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Influence
Arthur Rimbaud
Patti Smith
sealed with a signature
This is the signature that appears on the inductee’s plaque at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to officially commemorate their induction.
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