Patti Smith on the night that changed her life

Patti Smith on the Night That Changed Her Life

In 1976, the bicentennial year celebrating the American Revolution, our band was touring Horses and riding straight into the future. It was an open, spirited time — we spent days with William Burroughs at his Bowery bunker, watched Television play at CBGB, and planned a chaotic yet hopeful future with my brother Todd. Crossing the country with a rock’n’roll band felt like being at the center of something powerful.

Despite the nation’s flaws — from Vietnam to racial and gender injustice — we celebrated what America had given to the world: rock’n’roll, jazz, activism, abstract expressionism, and the Beat generation. I felt my own strength and believed in our shared purpose.

The Horses Tour and Companions

Along the west coast, our lineup — Lenny Kaye on guitar, Jay Dee Daugherty on drums, Ivan Král on bass, and Richard Sohl on keyboards — was joined by Paul Getty and French actor Maria Schneider. Maria, iconic from her roles in The Passenger and Last Tango in Paris, had deep black eyes and dark, untamed hair that framed her pale face. She looked like a vision in a white shirt and black tie.

Paul Getty, grandson of an oil magnate and survivor of a notorious kidnapping in Italy, had been introduced to me by William Burroughs. He was a pale, thoughtful young man with wild red hair and freckles, one of those passing through the strange sanctuary Burroughs kept. I was genuinely fond of him, finding a reflection of myself in his gaze.

“It was a time when I felt my own power and believed in our mission.”

Author’s Summary

Patti Smith recalls a defining moment during the Horses tour of 1976, where art, rebellion, and newfound purpose collided in a powerful vision of American creativity.

The Observer — 2025-11-02