Patti and Robert Mapplethorpe. They were The Muse for each other and felt they were soulmates. Those photos on her album covers? All taken by him, up to Dream of Life, taken about a year before he died of AIDS.
Smith's romantic relationship with Blue Öyster Cult keyboardist Allen Lanier lead to her writing a number of songs for the group, beginning in 1972 with Baby Ice Dog on the album Tyranny and Mutation, ultimately performing backing vocals on a few songs. Additionally, Lanier played keyboards on her songs "Elegie", "Kimberly", and "Space Monkey".
Her song Fire of Unknown Origin was not only recorded by the BOC, it became the title of the LP. Some fifteen or sixteen BOC songs were wholly or partly composed by Patti.
One-Hit Wonder: Like Devo, despite her long, acclaimed career, she's only had one real hit: "Because the Night" from Easter. The fact that it was co-written with Bruce Springsteen might have something to do with it.
She Also Did: Patti started as a graphic artist and has had many exhibitions of her drawings and paintings. She's also a photographer, often using old-fashioned film cameras or Polaroid. She has also written four memoirs (a fifth, The Melting, about global warming and the COVID-19 Pandemic that left her unable to travel as she usually does, is being serialized for subscribers on her Substack newsletter) and is working on a detective novel.
in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Icarus", and playing neurosurgeon Ann Morrison
