On This Day..4 th November 1994: The life and death of Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith.

Image 1 (Fred and Patti Smith)

On this day, 4th November 1994, the world lost the musical and cultural icon Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith; after years of struggles with his health, the singer died after experiencing heart failure. Born Frederick Dewey Smith on 14th September 1948 in Lincoln County, West Virginia, the singer’s mother gave birth to him during an electrical storm in his parent’s kitchen. In 2018, the singer’s birthplace paid homage to Smith when he was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. Smith is best known as one of the founding and prominent members of the highly influential band MC5 and husband to poet, singer and activist Patti Smith.

The two were married on 1st March 1980 and remained together until Fred’s death; the betrothed artists had a running joke that Patti only married Fred so that she would not have to change her last name. Fred and Patti first met at a show they were both performing at and became acquainted through Lenny Kaye (guitarist in Patti’sband); Kaye also presented the award to Patti Smith during Fred’s posthumous induction into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. When they first met, Fred was married to his first wife, Sigrid Dobat; Fred and Patti soon became entwined in an affair before Fred was available to marry again. Little is known about Fred’s first marriage and wife except for the tragic death of their only child, who dies of SIDS.

Fred and Patti’s marriage resulted in two children: their eldest son Jackson was born in 1982, and their second child, a daughter Jesse, was born in 1987. Both of their children have followed in their talented parents’ footsteps and work within the music industry. Jesse is a pianist, and Jackson plays the guitar and was married to the White Stripe’s drummer, Meg White.

Patti Smith has cited her late husband as a key figure in her musical and creative endeavours; she has spoken frequently about how Fred was a motivating and inspirational force in her musical writings and work created before and after Fred’s death. Her song “Frederick” was written in dedication to Fred; it was the lead single of the album Wave by the Patti Smith group in 1979, a year before Fred and Patti’s marriage. The song was later covered by English pop star Sandie Shaw in 1988 and was included in a B-side called Go Jonny Go, which Shaw had written to praise Johnny Marr. Patti’s love for Fred can also be heard in her 1996 album Gone Again; the album includes songs written in homage and co-written by Fred.

Image 2 (MC5)

The formation of MC5 occurred during the teenage years of Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith and guitarist Wayne Kramer. Both started their music careers in separate bands; Smith played in Vibratones, and Kramer was in the group Bounty Hunters. After several members of each band left for higher education and other paths, Kramer and Smith decided to unite under the name Bounty Hunters. They recruited Billy Vargo to play guitar and Leo LeDuc on percussion. After receiving popularity in Detroit’s local music scene, the group met their future singer, Rob Tyner, when he went by his real name, Rob Derminer; he was already a fixture within Detroit’s music scene and was a part of the left-wing political community. Initially recruited for the role of the band’s manager, Derminer’s vocal abilities and stage presence made him the band’s lead singer. Derminer changed his name soon after joining the group; his new name was a tribute to McCoy Tuner, a five-time Grammy award-winning saxophonist best known for his time spent within the John Coltrane Quartet. Tyner’s decision to change the band name to MC5 was also an act of homage; MC5 refers to the group’s foundations in Detroit and is an abbreviation of Motor City Five, a reference to both the number of band members and the nickname for Detroit.

The band became punk rock royalty with their debut album, Kick Out The Jams, released in February 1969 via Elektra Records. The album was the band’s first live album; MC5 would release six live albums over thirty-seven years. Kick Out The Jams consists of recordings from two separate evenings at Grande Ballroom, one of Detroit’s most historical live venues. Adding to the album’s allure are the days when the recordings were made, Devil Night and Halloween of 1968.

The album’s title track, “Kick Out The Jams”, caused great controversy and issues for the band’s label. The song’s famed opener, “Kick Out The Jams, Motherfucker”, caused much upset, resulting in a radio-friendly version which replaced the profanity with “Kick out the jams, Brothers and Sisters”, a decision which is said to have been made without the entire agreement of all band members.

The swear-laden opening line also caused issues with Hudsons, a department shop in Detroit; the chain would not allow the albums to be sold in its stores. In retaliation, MC5 took out an ad in Fifth Estate, an underground magazine based in Detroit established by famed American writer Harvey Ovshinsky when he was a teenager. The full-page advertisement contained the band’s and record label Elektra Records’ logo with the message, “Stick alive with the MC5, and Fuck Hudsons!!”. Their fans celebrated the stunt and propelled the band’s rebellious reputation within the punk rock music scene, but it cost them their contract with Elektra. However, Atlantic Records signed them soon after.

Outside of MC5, Fred Sonic Smith’s influence can be seen throughout popular music and modern culture. He also inspired his wife’s art and wrote and collaborated creatively with his wife, Patti. The first album Patti Smith released after the disbandment of The Patti Smith Group, Dream of Life, was also the only album in which husband and wife built and released together. Fred is also a regular on lists published by magazines and music organisations; in 2003, he placed at number 93 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all time. Smith’s influence also transcends his own art, much like how MC5’s lead singer took inspiration from his musical hero for a new identity, as did Sonic Youth; when the time came to pick a band name, they chose a name in tribute to Fred’s nickname, Sonic.