Dancing Barefoot: The Patti Smith Story

by Dave Thompson

Overview

Dancing Barefoot is the full and true story of Patti Smith, widely acknowledged as one of the most significant American artists of the rock ’n’ roll era, a performer whose audience and appeal reach far beyond the parameters of rock.

An acclaimed poet, a respected artist, and a figurehead for many liberal political causes, Patti Smith soared from an ugly-duckling childhood in postwar New Jersey to become queen of the New York arts scene in the 1970s. This book traces the brilliant trajectory of her career, including the fifteen reclusive years she spent in Detroit in the 1980s and ’90s, as well as her triumphant return to New York. But it is primarily the story of a performer growing up in New York City in the early and mid-1970s.

Dancing Barefoot is a measured, accurate, and enthusiastic account of Smith’s career. Guided by interviews with those who have known her—including Ivan Kral, Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd, John Cale, and Jim Carroll—it relies most of all on Patti’s own words. This is Patti’s story, told as she might have seen it, had she been on the outside looking in.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613735510
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/01/2016
Pages:	330
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Dave Thompson is the author of London's Burning: True Adventures on the Front Lines of Punk 1976-1977, I Hate New Music: A Classic Rock Manifesto, and biographies of David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, and Eric Clapton. His writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, Spin, Mojo, Q, Record Collector, and many other publications.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

1 The Sheep Lady from Algiers 1

2 Anna of the Harbor 17

3 Ballad of a Bad Boy 27

4 Death by Water 39

5 The Amazing Tale of Skunkdog 55

6 Picasso Laughing 71

7 Ha! Ha! Houdini 83

8 Neo Boy 101

9 Christ! The Colors of Your Energies 117

10 Babelfield 135

11 High on Rebellion 149

12 The Salvation of Rock 159

13 Burning Roses 179

14 Thread 191

15 Scream of the Butterfly 205

16 A Fire of Unknown Origin 221

17 Sandayu the Separate 235

18 Babelogue 245

Appendix: Patti Smith on Record 255

Bibliography 273

Index 283

Editorial Reviews

"A commendable, enlightening portrait of a notoriously private person, a book that dovetails nicely with Smith’s 2010 memoir Just Kids.” —Detroit Metro Times


“Dancing Barefoot captures the energy of a time before punk rock hardened into a definition.” —Shepherd Express

From the Publisher

In this unfortunately timed biography, music critic Thompson (London's Burning) chronicles Smith's story from her childhood in New Jersey, growing up next to a pig farm, and her early days in New York with Robert Mapplethorpe, to her time at CBGB and up to her most recent album, Twelve. When Smith was nine, a neighbor invited her over to his house to listen to Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti"; from that moment, according to Thompson, she never let go of rock 'n' roll. Unfortunately, Thompson plods through these details, stitching together Smith's story based on interviews with her friends, from Tom Verlaine to John Cale; sadly, the book offers a disappointing and shallow portrait of this innovative poet and musician who still emerges from Thompson's book as an artist who is always changing, revising, and revisiting her own work and the work of others. Although this account of Smith provides few new insights into her life and music, Thompson's vivid re-creation of the music scene in New York City in the 1970s captures an exhilarating moment in music history. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Although Thompson (Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell: The Dangerous Glitter of David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed) interviewed a number of musicians and artists who have worked with poet and singer-songwriter Patti Smith over the years, he attempts to tell Smith's story primarily in her own words. The book relies on previously published interviews, Smith's Just Kids, and filmed interviews with and documentaries of Smith. Generally, this works well; however, the prose occasionally becomes stilted when too many attributions are worked into the text. While Thompson treats his subject sympathetically, he covers the good and bad, the successes and failures. Much to his credit, he avoids a tabloid-style exposé. VERDICT Readers looking for more examination of Smith's songs, recordings, and poetry should look elsewhere, but Thompson does a commendable job of documenting her life. Smith fans might find this a good companion to Just Kids, as Thompson does not focus as heavily on Smith's relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. It may also appeal to readers interested in American poetry and the development of punk rock in the 1970s. Recommended.—James E. Perone, Univ. of Mount Union, Alliance, OH

Library Journal