The Interview — Patti Smith: Artists Have a Responsibility to Speak Up

BBC World Service | Host: Katie Razzle
Date: December 8, 2025
Episode length: ≈25 minutes

Overview

This episode features an intimate, wide-ranging conversation with Patti Smith, American singer, songwriter, poet and cultural icon, during her UK tour marking the 50th anniversary of Horses, her groundbreaking debut album. Interviewer Katie Razzle delves into Smith's reflections on her creative journey, her experiences as a pioneering artist in the 1970s, her profound personal losses, her lifelong commitment to activism, and a late-in-life revelation about her identity. The interview radiates Smith’s characteristic warmth, wisdom, and deep sense of gratitude.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. On Loss, Resilience, and the Spark of Creativity

[02:52–04:42]

• Patti Smith discusses enduring profound losses—parents, husband Fred, siblings, close friends—and emphasizes that such universal experiences can be survived.

• She shares her motivation for her recent book: “I wanted them to be remembered. The book became really a way for me to show gratitude for all the people who influenced me, whether poets or musicians or artists, my parents, my siblings, my beloved husband, my friends.”
  — Patti Smith [03:33]

• Smith offers listeners comfort:

  “If you love being alive, if you’re happy with yourself, everything else will fall in place.”
  — Patti Smith [04:27]

2. The New York Scene: Becoming an 'Art Rat'

[04:42–06:40]

• Smith lovingly describes the early, gritty days at CBGB’s—long before its legendary status—recounting the club’s origins among her circle and the lack of venues for “mavericks.”
• Contrasts the luminary-packed Chelsea Hotel (“Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Allman Brothers, Salvador Dalí…") with the formative, challenging space of CBGB’s where her generation built their own scene:

  “CBGB’s was my world because we were new, unknown. We had our own ideas.”
  — Patti Smith [06:29]

3. Facing Sexism — Refusing to Compromise

[06:40–07:50]

• Smith’s early experiences with sexism (e.g., reactions to her appearance) and her response:

  “I wasn’t fully formed as a performer… But for some reason, I have this other aspect… a certain inbred bravada… I never lost my sense of humor, nor my sense of self. I had a lot of armor, and it wasn’t easily pierced.”
  — Patti Smith [07:20]

4. Horses and the Mission of Art

[07:50–09:27]

• Reflects on Horses’ purpose as an album: for “the fringes of society… the disenfranchised, the shunned… the wild boys of the future… girls who shed conventional expectations.”
• Expresses a lasting commitment to voicing for those unheard:

  “If they couldn’t speak for themselves, even if it seems a bit… brash or presumptuous, that’s what I felt my mission was.”
  — Patti Smith [09:18]

5. Stepping Back from Fame to Preserve Artistic Integrity

[09:27–11:36]

• Smith describes the pressures of fame and her conscious decision to “reassess” herself, unwilling to become stagnant artistically:

  “What I’ve always wanted to do is do good work… I wasn’t evolving as a human being. I wasn’t evolving as an artist.” — Patti Smith [10:27]

• Speaks touchingly of marrying Fred, raising children, and redirecting her creative energies into personal life.

6. Love and Legacy: Fred “Sonic” Smith

[11:36–13:08]

• The book is described as a “big love letter”—to Fred, family, friends, and fans.
• On Fred's centrality:

  “In terms of, you know, the heart, Fred is… he’s the one.”
  — Patti Smith [12:54]

7. The Story Behind "Because the Night"

[13:08–15:35]

• Vivid recounting of how Bruce Springsteen’s unfinished song became Smith’s enduring hit, catalyzed by loneliness and longing for Fred during their long-distance relationship.
• Patti’s famous reaction:

  “I put it on, listened to it, and I went out loud: ‘It’s one of those darn hits.’ I knew it as soon as I listened to it. It was perfect. It had a sensualness, it was anthemic. I was like, oh no. But it was so seductive that I wound up writing lyrics.”
  — Patti Smith [14:56]

8. Activism and the Power of Art

[17:23–19:23]

• Smith reflects on activist anthems like “People Have the Power,” written with Fred, their hopes for a better world, and her enduring belief in collective action:

  “It’s not enough for 10,000 or 100,000 people to take the streets… We need a huge global effort for climate change, against climate change, just to do better as a people everywhere.”
  — Patti Smith [18:34]

• On the artist’s role:

  “A lot of people say, ‘Well, artists need to speak up. It’s artists’ responsibility to speak up.’ Yes, I believe that… But I don’t think it’s the artist’s job. It’s the people’s job. It’s all of us. All of us can do our part.”
  — Patti Smith [19:07]

9. Inspiring Younger Generations

[19:23–20:21]

• Discusses mutual admiration with new female artists (Lana Del Rey, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift) and faith in youth:

  “They’re the future. And I pin my faith on our young people… The kids are all right, the girls are all right. They’re facing a lot of stuff, but they’re facing it well.”
  — Patti Smith [24:07]

10. Late-Life Identity Revelation

[20:21–23:00]

• Smith discovered at nearly age 70 that her biological father was not the man who raised her. She shares her emotional process:

  “I would be lying to say I wasn’t a bit broken hearted that he wasn’t my physical blood father, but he raised me and I modeled myself after him… I look at it: moving through the sadness with real gratitude and real love.”
  — Patti Smith [21:19]

• DNA test led to unknown relatives; complicated feelings towards her mother, whom she feels protected her, not lied:

  “She did her best to protect me. If she could walk in a room, you know, and I have all this new information, I would just love her 100 times more.”
  — Patti Smith [22:50]

11. On Gender, Success, and the Modern Music Industry

[23:00–25:12]

• Smith reflects on being “beyond gender” as an artist:

  “I know my own femaleness. But as an artist, I don’t have any sense of any particular gender.” — Patti Smith [23:49]

• Describes historic sexism (e.g., only allowing one female on the top charts at a time) but expresses pride in new generations of powerful women dominating music today.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you love being alive, if you’re happy with yourself, everything else will fall in place.”
  — Patti Smith [04:27]

• “CBGB’s was my world because we were new, unknown. We had our own ideas.”
  — Patti Smith [06:29]

• “I never lost my sense of humor, nor my sense of self. I had a lot of armor, and it wasn’t easily pierced.”
  — Patti Smith [07:20]

• “Our record wasn’t to garner fame and fortune. It was for the art rats, known and unknown, the disenfranchised, the shunned.”
  — Patti Smith [07:55]

• “It was exciting to be a rock and roll star for a little while. But what I’ve always wanted to do is do good work, do something new, astonish people.”
  — Patti Smith [10:11]

• “I will always believe the people have the power, but… we need millions. We need a huge global effort.”
  — Patti Smith [18:34]

• “The kids are all right, the girls are all right. They’re facing a lot of stuff, but they’re facing it well.”
  — Patti Smith [24:07]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:52] Losses and gratitude — on death, identity, and resilience
• [05:19] Life at CBGB’s & the Chelsea Hotel
• [07:05] Sexism in music & self-confidence
• [08:23] Music for the “disenfranchised”
• [09:43] Coping with fame & stepping back
• [11:36] Marriage to Fred & love as creative anchor
• [13:08] The story behind “Because the Night”
• [17:55] “People Have the Power” & artistic activism
• [19:49] Inspiring younger artists
• [20:43] Discovering true parentage—identity and acceptance
• [23:38] Thoughts on gender, sexism, and the future of female artists

Tone and Atmosphere

Smith is candid, fiercely independent, philosophical, and deeply grateful both for beauty and hardship. The conversation is reflective, sometimes wistful and moving, yet never self-pitying. Smith’s humor, resilience, and radical empathy come through, as does her abiding belief in art’s— and the people’s—capacity to bring change.

For Listeners New to Patti Smith

This interview offers an inspiring primer on Smith's legacy, activism, music, and philosophy of life. She emerges as a model of authenticity—uncompromising, ever-evolving, and devoted to serving others through her art and example.

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