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Patti Smith’s latest memoir is a must-read for music fans, especially after the gut-punch that was her 2010 work titled Just Kids.
Upon its release Nov. 4, Barnes & Noble for $27. Barnes & Noble also sells a signed version of the book for just $30, a great keepsake for longtime fans of Smith and her work.
Rather than chronicling a specific point in time like Just Kids, Smith’s latest work goes back to the very beginning, like most traditional memoirs. The memoir is chock full of it. Our favorite part? A section in which the punk poet recalls her chance meeting with husband Fred “Sonic” Smith, a guitarist for MC5, in 1976.
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“That’s when I first saw him. He stood by a white radiator in a blue overcoat. I noticed the threads where a button was missing. That fleeting moment was to redirect the whole of my life. Lenny introduced us simply: Fred Smith, Patti Smith, Patti Smith, Fred Smith,” Smith wrote, describing the moment that she’d met her soon-to-be husband. The chance meeting happened amid her Horses tour, the 1975 studio album that put the singer front and center of the New York punk-rock scene. “When we first met, I had no idea who he was, but I knew instantly he would be my life,” she lovingly added.
The recreation of that moment is extremely touching. Even if you aren’t a fan of the “Gloria” singer, her writing is just as impactful as her music. It paints a vivid picture of what she was feeling in that moment, a chance meeting with her soulmate.
In 1988, Fred collaborated with Patti on her 1988 album, Dream of Life. Fred was also the one to encourage Patti to keep writing, with her crediting his influence on a number of the songs she released after his death in 1994 at the age of 46. He was the inspiration for Patti’s song “Frederick.”