The poet laureate of punk, Patti Smith burst onto a vacuous music scene in the mid-1970s with a raw and revolutionary sound—steeped as much in French symbolist poetry as it was in 1960s garage rock—and an indelible, gender-bending stage persona. With the release of her debut album, Horses, rock music would simply never be the same. Drawing on sources in music, literature, and art, as well as all-new interviews with those close to Smith, Mark Paytress puts the story of Horses into its full context: from the singer’s early days to her rapid rise on New York’s performance art scene and the key role she played in the emerging art-punk movement at CBGBs. He also demonstrates the influence Smith and her music continue to exert today in the work of luminaries such as Morrissey, Michael Stipe, and PJ Harvey. Here is the unforgettable story of a landmark album, the new rock aesthetic that it brought about, and how Patti Smith became the most influential female rock ‘n’ roller of all time.