Patti Smith

Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946 in Chicago) is an American singer-songwriter, poet and artist. She was influential in the birth of punk rock with her 1975 debut album Horses which was produced by John Cale. Called "Godmother of Punk" she integrated the beat poetry performance style with three-chord rock. Smith is most widely known for the song Because the Night, which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen and reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. In 2005 Patti Smith was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, and in 2007 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.