10 Greatest Female Singers In Rock History
9. Patti Smith
The end of the '60s marked the moment when rock started to get a little more serious. As much as acts like the Beatles may have broken down the door for what you could do in rock, it was up to the next generation to take the genre into new and interesting places. Though you had the more extravagant stripes of prog rock coming out in the '70s, Patti Smith showed just how much you could do with the bare essentials and a ton of heart.
Off the back of her first records like Horses and Easter, Patti was one of the most electrifying presences with a mic in her hand, going on long rambling songs that made for an almost tribal experience when you listened to the record. Just from the opening line of "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine," Patti wasn't just looking to make good rock and roll by her standards. She was trying to tear the walls down around her and set the place on fire.
At the same time, there was a lot more meaning behind her lyrics than straight menace, with a lot of them sounding like they could have been penned by Lou Reed during his time in the Velvet Underground. While this may have been a bit raucous at the time, the punk scene still lives in the shadow of what Patti started.