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Patti Smith (b. 1946)



Poetry Reading, NYC 1971, St. Mark's Church, New York City, December 25, 1971

  1. Ha! Ha! Houdini!
  2. Four Interesting Positions Of A Retired Child Star
  3. Mary Jane
  4. Lono Lord
  5. Renee Falconetti
  6. Bitch
  7. Death By Water
  8. Seventh Heaven
  9. Amelia Earhart
  10. Flying Saucers
  11. Piano
  12. The Amazing Tale Of Skunkdog

    NYC 1973, venue unknown

  13. Brian Jones
  14. Prayer
  15. Jesus Christ

    Max's Kansas City, NYC 1974

  16. We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together
  17. I'm Wild About That Thing
  18. Harbor Song
  19. The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game
  20. Piss Factory
  21. We Three
  22. Land
  23. Neo Boy - Hey Joe

Patti Smith moved to New York in the late 1960s and, over the next few years, while living with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, established a reputation as a writer of fierce vision and uncompromising originality. She trafficked in the underground theater scene (where she collaborated with playwright Sam Shepard on the play Cowboy Mouth) and published poems in small press editions, which, along with her published rock criticism, established Smith in the New York arts scene of the early 1970s.

Her February 1971 poetry reading at St. Mark's Church, where rock critic Lenny Kaye joined her for three songs on guitar, opened the door for her future recordings. The two hit it off right away, discovering a shared interest in obscure rock records. Two years later, Smith and Kaye reunited for a concert in celebration of Rimbaud, and the seeds for a band were sown. Adding Richard Sohl on piano the following year, the trio found regular gigs in and around New York.


Various Tracks

1. Poem for Jim Morrison & Bumblebee (11:45)


from The Nova Convention (Giorno Poetry Systems, 1978)



2. The Histories of the Universe (7:46)


Recorded at St. Marks Church, NYC, Jan 1, 1975
from Big Ego (Giorno Poetry Systems, 1978)




3. Parade (6:07)


from Sugar, Alcohol, Meat (Giorno Poetry Systems)




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