Patti Smith "You Light Up My Life"
February 3, 2007 4:43 AM   Subscribe

 
Man, I love Patti Smith. Thanks for that.
posted by languagehat at 5:05 AM on February 3, 2007


Wow.
posted by trip and a half at 5:30 AM on February 3, 2007


"Debbie Boone! Was a nigg--- "

Nevermind. That was pretty great. Never knew she was from Chicago. Thought she was from NY.
posted by hal9k at 5:43 AM on February 3, 2007


Patti Smith.... I was a freshman in a small town, conservative catholic high school when a friend gave me an unlabeled, second (3rd?) generation cassette copy of "Horses". I couldn't believe my ears. "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine ..... my sins are my own they belong to me, mee MEEEE!" ???

Wow.
posted by R. Mutt at 5:52 AM on February 3, 2007


"I wanted to be a missionary." - P. Smith

That sure worked out well. I'm a total convert, and the last show...um, service...of hers that I went to, people were crying and shouting and waving their arms.
posted by rtha at 6:08 AM on February 3, 2007


Neat!
posted by Scoo at 6:23 AM on February 3, 2007


Being the old fart that I am, I had to look up who Patty Smith is. I didnt have a clue (I never cared for punk). She is being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March, 2007. wikipedia
posted by BillsR100 at 6:29 AM on February 3, 2007


I still can't believe she married John McEnroe.

Never saw that coming.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:59 AM on February 3, 2007 [1 favorite]


I don't think it's that surprising that she chose to sing that song--for someone who knows depression and darkness, it's an obvious choice for the time period especially for singing to a bunch of kids.

I'm more suprised she was on the show. It's amazing how these kids shows had great musical guests in the 70s. Didn't someone link before to Stevie Wonder on Sesame Street?

Don't kids shows these days have utter tripe on as the musical guests?
posted by dobbs at 7:13 AM on February 3, 2007


crash, that's the wrong patti sm(i)th yr thinking of.
posted by lester's sock puppet at 7:23 AM on February 3, 2007


"crash, that's the wrong patti sm(i)th yr thinking of."

Scandalous.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:25 AM on February 3, 2007


Didn't someone link before to Stevie Wonder on Sesame Street?

Yep.
posted by RichardP at 7:30 AM on February 3, 2007


damn. in looking into my patty smyth link, the wiki says that edit van halen offered the job of fronting van halen. that smacks of bs to me.

don't worry, crash ... yr still the epitimie of the (mefi) warrior to me.
posted by lester's sock puppet at 7:33 AM on February 3, 2007


ugh. that's eddie van halen
posted by lester's sock puppet at 7:34 AM on February 3, 2007


I dunno, I was trying to think of ways that "edit" worked as a pun.

I'm amazed that someone can be on Metafilter and not know who Patti Smith is.

Love that Stevie Wonder appearance!
posted by intermod at 8:03 AM on February 3, 2007


My condolences to those who wanted that performance to suck.
posted by davebush at 8:09 AM on February 3, 2007


Hey! R&RHOF will be interesting this year: both Patti Smyth and Van Halen are being indicted. May go on tour if they can convince Philip Roth to sing with them again. Hopefully, Hagar The Horrible will be busy elsewhere.
posted by hal9k at 8:16 AM on February 3, 2007


As I was listening to PS sing I couldn't help but wonder if she would make it to Hollywood and get the golden ticket. "Yeah Dawg, I hear it but gotta work on the hair." Randy
"Who put coke in my burbon?" Paula, "Yeah sure whatever."
What Would Simon Say? or simply WWSS...
posted by MapGuy at 8:40 AM on February 3, 2007


Heh, crash didn't know she dumped Robert Smith for Mark E. Smith. Or was that T.V. Smith?
posted by Smart Dalek at 8:46 AM on February 3, 2007


Yes, Philip Roth, Patti Smith, and Van Halen touring together. All we need is a band name...
posted by found missing at 8:46 AM on February 3, 2007


I loved the part when the little kids were all YAAAAAY, Mick Jagger!!!

Great link, thanks a bunch.
posted by ottereroticist at 8:57 AM on February 3, 2007 [1 favorite]


I too was a suburban junior high school boat with no rudder whose life was changed when one late night I heard an ad for the Radio Ethiopia album. I got it the next day, and realized that my dreams had relevance as well.

Saw Patti last year at a benefit- she told the audience that the reason "Because the Night" didn't hit number one on the charts was because it was beaten out by Debbie Boone's "You Light Up My Life". People booed & hissed, but she stopped them by singing the first verse of it and telling everyone what a special song it was for her.
posted by squalor at 9:03 AM on February 3, 2007


Also- there's a tremendous bio of Patti Smith by Sharon Delano in the March 11, 2002 New Yorker (disc 1 for us dvd jugglers). For my Mefites, I have posted a pdf of it here (Rapidshare link).
posted by squalor at 9:25 AM on February 3, 2007


AWESOME!!!! Kids are People Too, wocka doo wocka doo.

I have the vaguest of recollections that I actually watched this when it aired.

Great post, great FIND.
posted by psmealey at 9:33 AM on February 3, 2007


Patti is amazing. Why did she move to Detroit? Well, her husband was Fred "Sonic" Smith of the fabled MC5.

And whatever you think of the Debbie Boone song, that was a real nice vocal.
posted by crowman at 9:41 AM on February 3, 2007


i clocked the link thinking it was going to be a train wreck of a clip but it was quite wonderful, especially her rapport with the kids.
posted by cazoo at 1:05 PM on February 3, 2007


both Patti Smyth and Van Halen are being indicted.

Van Halen's many, many crimes are well-documented, but what did poor Patti ever do?

Great clip; it really speaks to what punk rock was at that time, as well as how neutered and cynical youth culture has become.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:43 PM on February 3, 2007


Wonderful. I'm trying to remember the show itself, I was, er, 12 at the time and possibly would have scorned a show for "kids"...in any case, pretty cool.

Punk rock? Where's jonmc?
posted by maxwelton at 3:11 PM on February 3, 2007


lester's sock puppet: "damn. in looking into my patty smyth link, the wiki says that edit van halen offered the job of fronting van halen. that smacks of bs to me."

I saw her tell this story. Evidently it happened after Eddie Van Halen spent three days on the road partying with Scandal.

I got the feeling he said it like, "Sure, babe, I'll call you when I get back to L.A."

He'd just spent three days on the road with Scandal. Imagine what a low point he was at in his life.
posted by ?! at 3:23 PM on February 3, 2007


Heh, crash didn't know she dumped Robert Smith for Mark E. Smith.

The love child of Patti & Mark E Smith would come to rule the world in no seconds flat.

Hell, even the mere *concept* of such a wunderkind is reaching total global domination, even as I type.
posted by UbuRoivas at 7:10 PM on February 3, 2007


That video rocked. Wow, what a great voice. It was bizarre too, her smouldering, dark punk presence, here softened and gentle, even quietly twinkly, contrasted with the kids' energetic enthusiasm.
posted by nickyskye at 8:22 PM on February 3, 2007


Patti is just awesome. Amazing. Any time she's in town, I'm so there. Thanks for this link!
posted by susanbeeswax at 10:20 PM on February 3, 2007


What happened near the end there? Was she kneeling at the piano just before the finish, when the song got a little too high for her range? It seemed like there was a bunch of cutting going on.

But I did love the vocal. Thanks -- great post!
posted by onlyconnect at 10:22 AM on February 4, 2007


I think she forgot the words, onlyconnect.
posted by Floydd at 10:33 AM on February 5, 2007


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