Patti Smith on Lou Reed and rock and roll | American Masters | PBS

Official website: www.pbs.org/americanmasters | #AmericanMastersPBS
On July 31, 1997, Patti Smith shared her thoughts on the 70s rock and roll scene and how Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground inspired her as a young girl in South Jersey. Interview conducted by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, director of "American Masters-Lou Reed: Rock And Roll Heart" (1998).
Chapters:
00:00 How jazz gave rock and roll new structure
01:35 Shaking up the music scene in the 1970s
05:07 Patti Smith's introduction to the Velvet Underground
07:58 How Smith related to Lou Reed's "cerebrally sensual music"
09:22 Smith breaks down the song "Heroin"
12:19 Smith's rejection of labeling artists
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The American Masters Digital Archive includes over 1,000 hours of footage from more than 1,000 original, never-before-seen, full, raw interviews: a treasure trove of the movers and shakers of American culture, including Maya Angelou, Patti Smith, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Matthew Broderick, Carl Reiner, Joan Rivers, Audra McDonald, Lee Grant, Patricia Bosworth, Sidney Lumet, William Buckley and many others.
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[@billmay7364]

I love how Pattie Descripes The VU and Lou Reed's Muse. The Song Heroin has Beauty Underneath the Struggle in Darkness of Addiction. One of the greatest songs ever written . Lou Reed is one of the greatest American Artist. People are still trying to catch up to Lou. David Bowie knew this. Patty was a Visonary from Coltrane to Miles and ties it into Lou Reed.

[@taraxacum]

She is great to listen to. Fame and accomplishment did not make her arrogant. Her ability to remain humble was part of what makes her beautiful. When I was a teenager and saw The Patti Smith Group perform at the Bottom Line in the Village, it woke me up to something new and clear and brilliant. I think she was doing something far more than just holding a place for something new to come along.

[@marcofalzone6469]

I saw her cuss out a cameraman onstage!

[@tomallen5837]

I don't know, I think it's kind of arrogant to make an assumption that you were able to contribute something on behalf of your own band, but 99% of the rest of what she says is spot on. It's good to hear her share what influenced her. I would agree That Jazz and Blues absolutely needs to be credited, although she didn't mention blues per say - that's pretty much what Coltrane was. I'm 10 years younger and I do recall what a huge change it was, once Punk hit the stage. Before then, radios were the only form of contact. You always had your jazz station you would listen to as a kid as well as your Blues stations ....all of these independent stations around the tri-state area, not just the rock stations. It all came together at some point and then of course the cycle depleted itself, as they all do, replaced by gadgets and robots and automation.

[@AGregBergThing]

Ha Patti is so arrogant

[@barbarahankinson5133]

😮😮😮😮

[@dbob3405]

Whether it is creating art or critiquing art, she is one of the best. She is one of those humans that God anointed an “artist”. I cannot imagine she could have been anything else if she tried. It would be like taking a brook trout out of a mountain stream and telling it, “you will be an accountant”. As you return that living jewel back to the clear flowing water, you know it is where and what it had to be. We as her audience have had the good fortune to enjoy her genius-thank you PS

[@lauramiller7827]

I could listen to her speak about any subject all day long 💕

[@ediedisorder7144]

Patti, I just admire and appreciate her so much. Loved this interview. Just watched her on the 15th Aug great show as always. Live Portland, Or. 103 degree heat, lots of misters water spraying everywhere. But Patti brought it. She just rocks. And such a humble and thankful human being.

[@flyingo]

My musical, political and social tastes for the “out of the ordinary” developed from life in the late 60s and early to late 70s, and Patti’s albums were a huge part of that development. Radio Ethiopia changed me deeply. I was fortunate to have attended a few of her concerts over the years, and seeing her perform live was other worldly, to say the least. Her book “Just Kids” is an amazing and entertaining read. She is just brilliant in every way.

[@auralepiphanies4055]

Yeah Heroin is the most honest, intriguing, satisfying, terrifying, street level lyrics maybe of all time ...Put it up there with the lyrics of Blowin in the Wind. I still tell people Lou Reed is my Bob Dylan!

[@kasondaleigh]

I’ve only known her by name and she is so lovely to listen to!! Very articulate and genuine. Thanks for sharing!

[@peacetrain3320]

Patti Smith came to Chapel Hill after Horses was released. She played on campus at a small auditorium. It was like, New York City came to the country. It was epic!

[@cosmicdrifter287]

Very smart and beautiful woman in more than one way.

[@geinikan1kan]

I came back from abroad and Gone Again had just come out, after a hiatus of a few years for Smith. Man that album made me cry it was pure rock poetry about grieving and life.

[@j.kevvideoproductions.6463]

She's very articulate & described Lou Reed's writing skill pretty well.

[@katebarker1983]

Her vision of a future without a need for labels is succinctly spoken. I love her. She is wise.

[@markdarnell614]

I think Patti Smith has earned the Title - VISIONARY! Honestly, I am not particularly drawn to her music, as much as I am her Thinking, and BEING! She is both Beautiful, and Astonishing ...like an ancient Fortress Wall!

[@peteroverbaugh6650]

I saw her open for the Grateful Dead at the UMass Amherst Spring Fest in May of 1979. It seemed an odd Tandem, but it worked and was wonderful. Jesus Died for Somebody's Sinz but not Mine....Happy Easter.

[@1971bdott]

Great artist ❤

[@dylanharkin8198]

I have never seen a more beautiful woman in my life, and I doubt I ever will

[@enricovankeeken1624]

*I get "punished" for feeling?thinking the sAme way YOU do, almost dAily..its a good thing my name is nOt R!CkY :-)*

[@hopeislandful]

I've never seen an uglier woman in my life.

[@michaelworse6034]

Always keep a little Patti in your heart ❤️!

[@Jojoseahorse]

Me too, absolutely

[@peterwilliams6052]

I agree

[@gohomo2384]

Thank you! always glad to see Patti :) would love to see more!

[@DrNancyLivingCoCreatively]

Patti is brilliant on many levels. 💙

[@josephcopeland2343]

Patti Smith it's not just a singer she's a poet in our own right

[@sunnypedaal]

Beautiful interview , thanks ❤️🌞

[@leonwaltemate6152]

To me, Heroin and Waiting for the Man are part of the the same experience. Masterpiece of describing the life of a junkie. 😢.

[@johneeeemarry34]

He used junkies to make the band seem less suburban and more pseudo ‘street’, very proto Indy hipster..

[@ToddRock16]

❤Must Hear video for those of you who don't know or desire to know the Why's? and the How's Rock music is and was a formidable force. 🌹Patti Smith is emblematic of Art . Live! In Concert? Life -changing. At least it was for this Rock Drummer. 💙

[@JamesLamm-jt7vg]

Horses and Easter were excellent

[@minorracket2854]

Intelligent artists are rare thee days. So articulate

[@SusanDoran]

They're always rare

[@SusanDoran]

Outstanding interview, but surprised by the audio issues, the interviewer wasn't micced properly, and even interference on the lavalier mic on Patti. Wonder what Lou thought of Patti when he first met her...? She's come into herself so beautifully over the years - whrn she was first on the scene in New York she was, not surprisingly, a little hard to take for many people, but she hung in there, did her thing, stayed constant, and outlived and outlasted so many, with such a good brain and a restless spirit propelling her ever forward while also reflecting on and integrating the past into her at once Romantic and pragmatic, clear-sighted world view and quest to understand humanity.

[@drychaf]

Speaking my language. So lovely to hear how we used to speak. This is already about a quarter of a century ago, and I haven't heard such a heart-felt evaluation of the effects of music on us for a very long time. Music in the 20th century was discussed as seriously and deeply as was painting in the 19th century to the First World War. I miss the accepted significance of music. As for the labelling. Jeez, wishful thinking? It's got worse and worse. If you're creative, if you're trying to achieve anything, in fact, you've just got to ignore it and carry on.

[@stealthsadhu306]

"Music in the 20th century was discussed as seriously and deeply as was painting in the 19th century to the First World War." Wow! A thought worthy of Patti herself!

[@UGLY-MONEY17]

I love patti

[@user-bl7oe2md4p]

Even though I find the opinions of most celebrities or rock stars pretentious or boring there are some who are really interesting on a deep philosophical, spiritual, passion for honesty and beauty, human soul expression and meaning level. Patti Smith is definitely one of those people.

[@kevinjoseph517]

i knew her room mate, over in france....and at chelsea patti knew janis.

[@harbourdogNL]

I first heard Gloria in a tent city youth hostel in London in the summer of 1976. Some guy was playing the Horses album and I asked "Who is that?!" Still one of my top 10 albums. (That same trip I was down King's Road in Chelsea and went into Vivienne Westwood and McLaren's Sex shop...didn't realise until later years where I'd been!

[@alazymonkey5716]

Patti Smith reminds me so much of Jordan Jensen. JJ is the Patti Smith of comedy!

[@petejones879]

I could listen to her all day long.. I was lucky enough to have seen her live in my home town (city) of Wolverhampton.. She had walked around the town and was amazed by our St Peters Church which is around 800 yrs and and she remarked 'we have nothing that old in the states... Except for maybe Ronald Reagan' lol 😅

[@johnjones3714]

Back in the seventies I kept reading about the Velvet underground it was probably five or six years before I actually heard any of their music. Owning a few Lou Reed and John Cale solo albums yes but no Velvets

[@JSnygg]

I love her text analysis’

[@dominicarblaster4042]

I tend to agree after visiting the tea clipper 'Cutty Sark' when at school near London

[@humanbeing5300]

This is spot on, Jerry Garcia and Bob weir have both cited Trane as a huge influence. Bob Weir modeled his guitar style similar to McCoy Tyners piano. The modal jazz development started by Miles was a direct influence on the development of rock music

[@hughdismuke4703]

The end of the interview is what's most interesting. The parts about labeling, something some people have a problem with. Overall an artist is someone who 'moves' the masses. They move people away from the everyday stagnate schedule and conditioned thinking we are all snuck up on with. That is the purpose of a creative person. To give people a different vision. Names are just names. When Smith was talking about the music wasn't meant to be handled by marketing people, she got very cautious about how to describe it because she realized that she was stepping on the thing that helps these artists have recognition and compensation for their work. We all understand that part already. But here's my point. As long as music and other forms of art moves a person, makes a person think in a different way? If it serves its purpose in progressing society? Then it doesn't really matter what path it has to go thru in order to be what it was meant to be. And that's easier said than done. I believe there is too much emphasis placed on what is considered pure art vs. corporate interference, although corporate can have a daunting affect on a musicians work a lot of times, or so it seems. But then again it is important for someone like Patti to say it just as a reminder. Whatever music has to go through, people often are able to recognize its worth, what it's saying and how it's capturing our senses. The hip hop world is a perfect example of this. A great struggle, a lot of hard work, lots of red tape to get past, contract talk, before the artists work is presented to the public and the rewards after. The PR is probably the most annoying I would guess.

[@MarvinMonroe]

I wonder if she ever saw Humble Pie back in the day

[@chrisames2795]

She is remarkable

[@richierugs6544]

i bet a lot of you people got the t-shirt of her signature that i made back in the cbgb days--or maybe not----she was so cool after about 6 months i told her i was the guy making the shirts and gave her 20 bucks, she thanked me for making them---the next time i gave her money she took it but told me not to give her any more money---all in all i probably only made a few hundred of them

[@HollyBluePlanet]

Patti nails it, but does not see why it happened. I lived on Bleecker in the 70's, was in high school in the 60's, and heard the music evolve. It went from real rock and roll and Eddie Cochran in the 50's, to the death of Buddy Holly and several years of horrible schlock like Bobby Daren. Then the next wave hit and we had the Beatles and the Stones and the Yardbirds and Seeds...bringing back the rough garage sound to rock and roll, with a new level of musicianship and chord progressions. Then they started to sing about things that mattered because my entire generation was growing up to be thrown into a meat grinder of human sacrifice called the Vietnam War. The anit war and civil rights movements were happening and the music was reflecting it. Then the music died again with the death of Hendrix and the silencing of any anti war sentiment. The military industrial complex won. Then we had another wave when people got access to creating their own music and selling it on the internet. They smashed that movement with streaming services that pay nothing to musicians. Do you see the pattern? Do you know who keeps suppressing good music and promoting the schlock? I admired the sentiment of the punk music, but I missed the complex chord changes and harmonies that had been the signature of the music of the 60's. Patti is great. She told her truth and did not back down. I was playing Grateful Dead covers on the street when she was doing something truly artistic and original down the block at CBGB's.

[@hom0s4cer]

Who's they?

[@zebrazagadore4827]

@@hom0s4cerStreaming services. Much like writers and actors have been striking against.

[@stuartwray6175]

Nothing of value happened for around 25 years? - you go from the death of Hendrix to the internet. Who is suppressing good music? The military industrial complex?

[@HollyBluePlanet]

@@stuartwray6175 Los Lobos happened. There were a few bright lights in the mediocrity.

[@thePrisoner1000]

Spotify for example, 88% of the revenue goes to Spotify and the publisher, 6% to the writer of the song and 6% to the performer.@@hom0s4cer

[@HeIsNakedLunch]

15:35 me, too.

[@GetReal521]

Lou Reed: the man with yellow teeth and dirty fingernails. Patti Smith is a delight to listen to. She is very good at painting a full picture. I really enjoy listening to her.

[@richardm239]

WE NEED PATTI TO TO MAKE NEW MUSIC AND PERFORM AGAIN . SEEING THE DIRECTION THAT OUR WORLD IS GOING IN WE TRULY NEED ARTIST TO HELP WAKE THE YOUTH UP AND REMIND SOME OF US OLDER ONES THAT WE CAN CHANGE THINGS ,PEOPLE DO HAVE THE POWER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ediedisorder7144]

She is performing live. I just watched her in Portland Oregon on August 15th.

[@richardm239]

@@ediedisorder7144 DAMN LUCKY YOU ,SHE IS SOMEONE I WOULD LOVE TO SEE LIVE ,I WONDER IF SHE EVERS WOULD COME TO CANADA ,NOW THAT WE ARE A COM MUNIST COUNTRY WHO KNOWS !!!!!!!

[@pommelhorsepommelhorse8731]

I was just going to say that

[@AGregBergThing]

The album Horses is a masterpiece, its pretty much musicly downhill from there give or take a song

[@sato-lh5zf]

👍🏻

[@kevinjoseph517]

the image wasnt corporate.

[@crimsonwolf9099]

She has ALWAYS been a corporate product! Major corporate label "alternative" fodder. Sucking up to corporate "stars". Never EVER played the small punk dive circuits but was corporate catapulted to big venues with other corporate acts. She is a "punk" poser and corporate "alt" astro-turf. So she wore a leather jacket? So what.

[@berniekellman405]

If people were more like Patti Smith and less like themselves the world might be an A- instead of C- kind of place these days.

[@lindasutton4014]

I bought a copy of The Petting Zoo, by Jim Carroll, that was sold as a Copy “signed “by Patti Smith. The signature in the book was “signed “ with Autopen, which adds no value to the book.

[@beandipcartography]

R.I.P. Allen Lanier.

[@stardust1083]

The same thing she is saying stands today

[@jonjon6192]

I have no idea what Patti Smith is talking about - She says 1970's lacked direction, that we needed something new... Maybe New York needed direction, but in California we had a thriving music scene, an all consuming teenage revolt against the undeclared war in Vietnam and the Draft... not to mention racial discrimination... In August 1969 (in Bethel New York) 500,000 kids from all over the US- Stood up and Told the US Government to St, ufufuf it... California bands were Unique and kicking it... Little Feat, Spirit, Love, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, The Doors, Mothers of Invention, Grateful Dead. Talk about the end of Folk Rock...Ever heard of the Eagles......... I assume Pattie has heard of West Coast Jazz... lol and on and on and on..

[@cejannuzi]

A lot of glam rock was actually stripped down rock n roll. It was presented very theatrically.

[@indy26211]

Godness

[@tkshots]

that was a struggle

[@phantompanther648]

I saw her on the street more than once , west village.....l'd always dreamed meeting her. Our eyes met as if we were any man and women....and she flirted.....

[@Jojoseahorse]

She's the only woman I have ever "liked", so that says something for her magnetism

[@phantompanther648]

@@Jojoseahorse thank U 4 Elephant Records... ...🦑🦐🦞

[@Jojoseahorse]

@@phantompanther648 Elephant Records? Y r u thanking me 4 that?!

[@petejones879]

Being a performer of the arts with her poetry and her music I'm surprised she was never part of the warhol factory set.. Maybe she was a little bit too young

[@xxcelr8rs]

Marketing crews.... red alert cut.

[@blondeboywilson9221]

The Cult of Patty Smith never ceases to amaze and disgust me.

[@john_atco]

Patti Smith has always talked a lot..

[@crimsonwolf9099]

That's cuz she thinks everything she says is important and heavy. She babbles pseudo intellectual rubbish peppered liberally with name dropping to boost her cred. Always has!

[@markboyd9275]

What else are you supposed to do at an interview, stand on your head?🙄

[@michellewatson5954]

😂

[@tuveuxlademocratieoutuveux4692]

*Amazing how she deliberately avoids mentionning the importance of the Beatles throughout... Jazz had no bloody relevance in the music world in the sixties and seventies !! What is she talking about ???...*

[@foggynotion]

She's saying that the Beatles would have adamantly disagreed with you.

[@daveyvane9431]

So I suppose “Slow Ride” is not her favorite song?😂

[@waynedurning8717]

The wish she expresses at the end. I bet she never imagined it would get this much worse.

[@mccauleyprop]

Her last few comments in regards to "identidy"...the left wing media has failed her!

[@stuartwray6175]

Liberal media.

[@nikolic-sq5rx]

she has fight with words, hard to listen

[@Screenwriting]

She's deliberate and intelligent. She's not fighting words at all. She's summoning them.

[@swesttttt]

Good lord. She’s a poet. She’s not fighting with words, dude, she’s constantly considering the best way to phrase something to give the full image.

[@govchal]

@@swesttttt I liked what he said: "she has fight with words, hard to listen". it's important. so drop kick yer knee jerks through the goal posts of life. baby.

[@crimsonwolf9099]

Junky rambling. That's why. Sure she thinks the world of the song "Heroin". Duh! I used to as well.

[@stuartwray6175]

Has fight?

[@pascaljeanne8002]

oh man patti smith ...what is her ? lol , what is it ? i never understood what she does ! please patti ...stop it !

[@Methilde]

Anyway they didn't musically existed without brithish invasion and they were closer to Rock&roll than jazz.

[@stuartwray6175]

They? eh?

[@Canyon2023]

She over romanticizes the lyrics of Heroin. It's a typical junkie's experience.

[@cactaceous]

Yes but who was writing lyrics like that for mass consumption?! At that time or any time before. Nobody. A typical junkie’s experience brought to the ears of people that had never thought of it, heard of it or knew about it. It’s the bravery that is romantic. The fact he did not give a fuck.

[@themistero]

She reminds me of my aunt. Why can't boomer hippies wear any make up or color their hair when they get old? I mean whatever, but it just creeps me out, you know? Kind of like a wicked witch or something.

[@MarkDarnell-cq2wy]

Deep as the top layer of an Onion.

[@johnmcclung7536]

Not to Hot looking

[@ToddKuehnau]

I'm sure you ain't a looker yourself. Guess what?? Women are not here for your satifaction.

[@govchal]

she is very proud of her breasts. I have the documentation. thank you.

[@daddo2413]

Not for me. Not my fave.

[@mysto]

She is basically Flying on other people talent. Not interesting .

[@ttacking_you]

Boy, she really liked her some Hendrix. Hendrix is like some mythological God to people in my generation. It's hard to believe he existed