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Musician Patti Smith

The Godmother of Punk On Life and Loss.

Singer and poet, Patti Smith. Her new CD, "Gone Again" (Arista), is inspired by the passing of her musician-husband, Fred "Sonic" Smith of the MC5, and her brother, Todd. They died weeks apart in the fall of 1994. Her first four albums, recorded in the 1970s, established Smith as skinny "Godmother" of punk. Through the 1980s, while raising her children in a Detroit suburb, Smith recorded one album but made plans to record new music with Fred in the summer of 1995. Smith says unlike her punk days, her current performances have attracted a wide range of listeners, from truck drivers to Dead Heads to suburbanites.

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Other segments from the episode on June 24, 1996

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, June 24, 1996: Interview with Patti Smith; Review of the television shows "Karaoke" and "Cold Lazarus."

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