The Patti Smith Group was an American rock band formed in New York City in the mid-1970s by vocalist Patti Smith, guitarist Lenny Kaye, bassist Ivan Král, keyboardist Richard Sohl and drummer Jay Dee Daugherty. Emerging from the downtown New York scene and regular performances at CBGB, the group combined punk rock with garage rock, art rock and Smith’s poetry-driven songwriting. Although the 1975 debut album Horses was credited to Patti Smith, the same musicians formed its core and recorded the album with producer John Cale at Electric Lady Studios. The group name was formally used for 1976’s Radio Ethiopia, produced by Jack Douglas at the Record Plant in New York. Much of the album was written by Smith and Král, with the group using abrasive guitars, pounding drums, keyboards and extended improvisation; “Radio Ethiopia” and “Abyssinia” were recorded live. The group then recorded Easter in 1977 at the Record Plant and House of Music, with Jimmy Iovine producing. Released in 1978, the album brought a more polished sound and included “Because the Night,” written by Smith and Bruce Springsteen, which became the group’s major commercial breakthrough. The Patti Smith Group’s final album, Wave, was recorded at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock in 1979 with producer Todd Rundgren, blending rock instrumentation with more melodic arrangements on songs such as “Frederick” and “Dancing Barefoot.” Across its recordings, the group fused confrontational punk energy with literary, spiritual and personal themes, helping establish the New York punk aesthetic and influencing generations of alternative and rock musicians.
