Patti Smith "You Light Up My Life" on "Kids Are People Too"

[@rubyzamora6275]

This made me cry. This was one of my brother’s favorite songs. He died in 2019 from cancer. Never knew that Patti Smith did a cover of it. So amazing!

[@nurknanker6105]

Patti is such a big kid.

[@postingoldtapes]

Glad to have made it available. I'm amazed at the number of people who seem to assume that, to be "punk", one must also be cynical. But in truth hope and optimism are far more radical.

[@darlapeelman1610]

Probably because of the "Sex Pistols" they generally celebrated bad behavior.😁

[@lolaanava6686]

D’accord ! 100 💯 percent baby!! I just love it… my favorite genre… patty was an attitude with a unique voice and a great guitarist in Lenny Kaye… btw, this song is fckn horrible her singing, oh no… but thank you!🙏🏻

[@NSPIREGuru]

The day this played on tv the first time, my brother called me and said "Quick! Turn on Kids are People, Too! Patty Smith is going to be on!" It just kinda blew my mind...

[@jonthomas8569]

Patti was so cool and gracious with these kids. And the song choice? Totally unexpected yet it works. Very punk!

[@PolyQuasi]

Was expecting a punk version, but she stayed true to it and nailed it. Cover better than the original?

[@sexobscura]

@@PolyQuasi I like people who pigeonhole 'punk' to mean sloppy and amateurish - Smith was/is a consummate 'artist' who transcends those kinds of media labels. She sings a song she respects and gives it what she thinks it deserves (VERY shocking)

[@kangfesher]

I had an ENORMOUS crush on this guy...love him. Kids are people too...had forgotten about this.

[@yhn1inc]

Her enthusiasm and lack of any affectation sets her apart from practically everyone in the entertainment industry then or now. She is fearless at showing us who she really is. Rare...yink.

[@RonRicho]

Never really liked that song but hearing this has changed everything. That is now the definitive version of the song, for me anyway.

[@woodstockjon420]

Absolutely Beautiful

[@AhYaOk]

the coolest human being ever

[@mapeach86]

in a single word: enigmatic. mrs smith so succinctly and appropriately addresses the evil of corporate rock, explains the beauty of punk and warms our hearts with a moving ballad, all in the presence of a childhood audience on a show so aptly named "kids are people too"

[@PatriciaSmear]

30 people gave this a thumbs down?? Are they for real? Patti is a freak'n Icon!

[@crazygeorge53]

The best by far. She sends chills up my spine when she sings.

[@teptime]

Later that same night, Debbie Boone sang HORSES at CBGB's

[@crumptyjackCJ]

Genius.

[@itiswhatitaintanditaintwha1427]

I'd love to see video proof of that.

[@fernandomiller884]

ahahahaha

[@postingoldtapes]

Glad to have made it available. People won't believe it happened otherwise.

[@AhYaOk]

"Thanks Patti, and we'll be right back with Count Dracula and Adam Rich" Classic. lol

[@KevinGeeksOut]

Can you upload Count Dracula and Adam Rich, too?

[@IsisMusic]

she's great :)

[@romanjones4643]

I worked on that show, I gave her a peace button, she was nice. ❤

[@geneseepark]

Just saw her yesterday, doing a free gig in support of an artist friend from India. After 25+ years, she's evolved, while staying true to her values and principles. Thanks for this clip.

[@crazygeorge53]

Patti is so cool. She was then and she is now.

[@ccrider895]

OMG, that is priceless! I guess you couldn't expect her to read "Piss Factory" to a bunch of kiddies :P

[@BeBopbrook]

the best rendition of this song I've ever heard. Finally sung in a believable way, not all shallow and trite.

[@MrTambourineBoy]

There are so many reasons I am watching this over and over again. Utterly surreal.

[@UNIGILD]

Thank you so much for posting this.

[@zoznack]

Great comment. This is exactly what I thought-she's actually kinda cute, interacting with the kids and taking them seriously.

[@MsFrenchPetal]

i love this woman

[@hazard3020]

Magical ! 🎶💥🎶

[@aylaty]

Holy shit!! What can you say? Absolutely brilliant! Patti Smith - rock goddess!

[@americantoycoon9206]

How odd! That song was SOOOOO overplayed in the 70's that I never thought I'd ever want to hear it again. Patti does an incredible turn on it. I found it nteresting that she left out the entire last stanza of the song ("You light up my days and fill my nights with song, This can't be wrong, when it feels so right"). I wonder why? Now that I think about it, I think she just spaced out!

[@tomflorio3639]

It looked like she forgot the words

[@darlapeelman1610]

She sings it with genuine emotion, from the heart, like she's singing a tribute to a lover.❤️

[@tcampe]

The song is about a one night stand, and it was a kids show. Avoiding those lyrics was intentional.

[@yourinsipidrecordcollection]

@@tcampe She and so many other people, when they covered Pale Blue Eyes, dropped the verse about adultery though to be fair, Patti used to do it in an odd medley with Louie Louie.

[@josephfigliolia3225]

This was great. So what if she missed a line or two-this was her interpretation and she absolutely knocked it out of the park.

[@aztiff]

she's so eloquent & so honest... love it..

[@currywurstislife4916]

She took the most vanilla song in the universe and gave it *feeling*.

[@jessicadeelstra5403]

Amazing you are a legend. You didn't stay in the same lane you made your own lane.🙀

[@mp-ty2py]

WSJ article brought me here on 11/12/22 --- Amazing, really touching.

[@bethewalt7385]

God love Patti, been a fan for so long, muse of robert mapplethorpe, love Lenny kaye

[@phylicita1]

Thanks SO much! One of my greatest music surprises was in the '70s when I saw Patti Smith atTthe Palladium. Well, I couldn't beLIEVE it when she started singing "You Light Up My Life" - the Debby Boone hit - a capella! No I wasn't drunk or stoned, but I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Now, of course, thanks to KZbin, I know it was TRUE! It DID happen! I was THERE... not on Kids Are People Too, but at her actual Palladium show!

[@postingoldtapes]

Glad to have made it available. When I put it up originally, I had no idea that it would be viewed more than half a million times.

[@gailshepherd9923]

Thanks for posting. Who would have thought all those views back in the day. We were a handful of fans. Saw her sing it at the Santa Monica Civic to big applauds. Right after Because the Night. She said, "next time I do my song I want as big of applauds as you gave that song". Still the coolest.

[@HalloranIllustrations]

Way cool. Kids are People too was such a great show. I almost forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder.

[@JefW]

Patti Smith is one of the most soulful, sincerely human Rock vocalists.

[@patr70]

Beautiful version with alot of meaning.

[@zkg]

I saw this original broadcast when I was about 11 -- it was trainwreck TV then, and it's trainwreck TV today!

[@joeprice9418]

Thank you.joe Price.

[@veryevillemons]

I Know!!!.... I love at the VERY beginning when the guy says "Everyone says Patti Smith: Patti Smith" and she says "WHO! Who's everybody."... gotta love her.

[@intergalaxy]

She likes everithing is good! And no have fear to show us. Great Patti !

[@postingoldtapes]

The more amazing bit is that the guy playing the piano is Joe Brooks - the composer of "You Light Up My Life". And he gave her the lyrics.

[@lysanderofsparta3708]

Patti is a better singer than she's given credit for.

[@rrabiar]

Thanks for sharing! It gives me joy!

[@carolinemurgue8170]

This woman really rocks !

[@merlina74]

Amo este video ya Patti. Gracias!!!! AMAZING!!!! AWESOME!!!!

[@lolaanava6686]

O! Mon Dieu!!! This is incredible, 🙏🏻

[@angellacanfora]

This is excellently surreal!

[@andysocial61]

Great story!! very envious ..... didn't get to see patti til 1997 in Melbourne, Australia..... great night!

[@seintzeit]

thanks for posting it; it's a great tape...

[@btr0037]

I am so thankful I grew up in this period before everything became so corporate and correct. She said it right and sang it great. Thanks for the vid.

[@lulitanaka]

thank you, she is the best!

[@pamelaracanella9578]

I read her book, Just Kids, which was really cool bc she lived in my old neighborhood in Chelsea, NYC. She identifies as a kid.

[@NotAFanAnymore]

Right on Patti u lite up my life. Love my Easter lp. Be lost without it.

[@ВікторМазілов-ь6л]

Really terrific song!

[@ChaseOnMars]

Astounding and beautiful.

[@marksmail2]

This was very interesting. Thanks for making it available.

[@Georgie1954]

what an incredible performance. Heart felt and quite moving. Patti, you rock!

[@pcCAT33]

After finding this video way back on youtube...Just want to say Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Amazing Patti : ) LisboaGirl

[@facku1001]

Thanks for posting this!!!

[@mclg1000]

Great video. Thanks for posting.

[@AllenGarberGuitarFun]

This is one of the strangest things I have ever seen. I remember this show growing up...they really had some strange guests like Kiss and The Captain and Tenille. I remember it like it was yesterday...It was a daring show that catered to "tweens"-a forerunner of all this Disney Channel stuff.

[@BluSarahNamaste]

She kicked it!!!

[@AlisonWild]

This is fantastic. It's kind of like the bonus round for my kids someday, when they ask "Who's Patti Smith? What's so special about her?" And my shorthand answer will be direct to this video, because nothing I could say would be equal to the task of that question, but this video says it all. ty.

[@barbiqiu]

you certainly made me happy!!!! Thanks !!!!

[@einrobstein]

This is just about the coolest thing ever. I'm sure some of the kids were scared of her and none of them had ever heard her music.

[@yourinsipidrecordcollection]

Given when this would have been, they probably heard BECAUSE THE NIGHT.

[@PearTreeEnterprises]

I hated this song until I heard Patti do it!

[@Staszu13]

Me too. It reminds me of what happened with "I Hung my Head" composed and performed by Sting vs Johnny Cash's cover. I'm sure Debbie was/is a nice person but her version didn't have an ounce of passion. Patti's does. She LIVES every word, as Johnny did on his cover I mentioned above. That made all the difference.

[@Staszu13]

Also check out Joe Brooks being like "What's this crazy punk chick doing singing MY song?" Singing it well, Mr. Brooks. That's all.

[@neznezneznez]

That was surreal and incredibley cool. Thanks for sharing.

[@artguy822]

Thanks for that! Love it!

[@missSophia01]

OMG.. She's amazing.. Thats the best version I ever heard.. I LOVE HER! Amazing Voice and shes so cool... So much feeling when she sings!!

[@wigwam622]

Patty played the Tower Theater in Upper Darby Pennsylvania on May 10th 1978 and covered this You light up my life on that night. My freinds and i new even then that we were watcing something bizzare and special at that moment in time.

[@JStephs1950]

Wow. So different. I was listening to Bianca Ryan singing it, then Leanne Rymes - then Patti Smith, the only one of the three who sounds like her life is truly in the dark and full of pain without the person she sings about. Plus the nice rock edge to her singing.

[@mrmuffer69]

WOW. I remember that show.

[@furtivity]

"Don't go away...we have Count Dracula and Adam Rich..." The roller coaster that was '70's TV!

[@veryevillemons]

Oh My God, Thank you so much for posting this, this is extremely rare and AWESOME

[@blurp323]

I remember watching this!!!

[@thorzdotes]

30+ yrs after i first heard her and patti can still surprise me....tyvm for posting this gem

[@kittensoxxy]

Mother of Pearl!! This is a complete surprise and so COOL! Than you so much for posting it!

[@BradnSF]

Thanks so much. I watched the local NYC version of this show, "Wonderama" which theme song was "Kids are People Too" before the show went national in 1978. Similarly to "Wonderama", another NYC local chidren's show, Mario Cantone's "Steampipe Alley", produced in the late 1980s and early 1990s, often had segments and guests that I would not expect on a children's show and felt that it was somewhat of an inside joke. I like how Smith awkwardly says she prefers writing songs with her band but some times will record other people's songs like Bruce Springsteen. She is an amazing interpreter of other people's songs from "Gloria" to "When Doves Cry". "You LIght Up My Life" first appeared in the 1977 movie of the same name where actress Didi Conn (she was also a Pink Lady in Grease in 1978) appears to be singing the song. Patti Smith's version is closer to this version. Conn was lip syncing. The recording was a minor hit for "Original Cast" (the voice belonged to Kvitka Cisyk). Debby Boone quickly recorded the song and it was released 3 weeks after the movie's debut and became the biggest hit in the US for the decade. I always preferred the original version from the movie than the cover by Debby Boone. Whitney Houston's version is very good too.

[@song8777]

I remember this!!

[@soozzip]

Thank you so much for posting this - it's awesome. It's hard even to conceive of easy-listening pop songs ever entering Patti Smith's consciousness, but she was subject to the radio waves like we all were. Also, I love that the next guests after Patti were Dracula and Adam Rich!

[@The911Shaman]

Awesome!

[@carolaortiz58]

Amazing!!!

[@theiceman6941]

This is very heartwarming, the excitement of the kids for Patti as well as her performance. I love this video.

[@geoffreyvaughn]

This is fantastic! I've never seen this before. Thank you.

[@insidenumbers]

Thank you so much for posting this video. I am a big Patti Smith fan. I found her version of this song to be very moving. Cheers!

[@Brianjonestown]

This is amazing.

[@trottamig]

Beautiful!

[@coggsymalone]

absolutely agree. gorgeous!

[@egglady]

Joe Brooks does not look pleased, lol. I, on the other hand, am very pleased. I adore Patti Smith and what a treat it was to see her perform this great ballad! Thanks so much for uploading this.

[@shmuli9]

I just heard about this from a friend today, and imagine my surprise when I typed in 'You Light Up My Life" and "Patti Smith" and this came up immediately...

[@jennifercorly]

this is incredible! thanks so much for posting.

[@PopTodd]

Leave it to kids to ask questions that are actually INTERESTING. Love the interview portion: "What did you want to be when you were a kid?" Love it!

[@jojolovejoy]

im glad its available and that i saw it..i was looking for patti's appearance on the mike doulgas show from like 75-76, but apparently its not on this site yet..that performance is unbelievably surreal..i dont think mike doulgas knew who he had signed on..patti is timeless

[@JefW]

Awesome! thank you for posting this!

[@memonk11]

I saw her back when I was in high school. AND she sang "You Light up my Life".

[@tofupuppy]

Wonderful...so, the line up for that show was Patti Smith, Count Dracula, and Adam Rich. That's worth taking a moment to let sink in.

[@monoceros1222]

Thanks so much for this amazing juxtaposition!! Patti brought out what was actually good about this song, and turned sap into fine wine!!