Music
Fred "Sonic" Smith
1948–1994 · guitarist, songwriter
MC5 guitarist who led Sonic's Rendezvous Band, met Patti Smith at Detroit's Lafayette Coney Island in 1976, and spent his life in metro Detroit.
- Born
Lincoln County, West Virginia- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 46- Birth name
- Frederick Dewey Smith
- Also known as
- Fred Smith · Sonic Smith
- Detroit years
- 1950s–1994
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Fred Smith was born in rural West Virginia and grew up Downriver from Detroit, where as a teenager he joined Wayne Kramer and Rob Tyner in the MC5. His slashing guitar and his nickname “Sonic” became part of the legend of the band that recorded Kick Out the Jams live at the Grande Ballroom in 1968. After the MC5 broke up he formed Sonic's Rendezvous Band with Scott Asheton of the Stooges and Scott Morgan of the Rationals, a Detroit-area cult favorite whose single “City Slang” is its best-known record. On March 9, 1976, Patti Smith's guitarist Lenny Kaye introduced him to Patti at Lafayette Coney Island downtown; they married in 1980, settled in the Detroit suburbs and raised two children, and in 1988 he co-wrote and co-produced her album Dream of Life. He died of heart failure in Detroit in 1994, at 46. The band Sonic Youth took its name from him.
Highlights
- Guitarist of the MC5
- Led Sonic's Rendezvous Band (“City Slang”)
- Met Patti Smith at Lafayette Coney Island on March 9, 1976
- Collaborated on Patti Smith's Dream of Life (1988)
- Sonic Youth named themselves after him
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Recorded here · 1966–1970
Grande Ballroom
Closed · 1928–1972
The MC5's home stage, where Kick Out the Jams was recorded live in October 1968. The building stands empty.
Related place · 1976
Lafayette Coney Island
Status being checked
Classic downtown coney-dog diner where Lenny Kaye introduced him to Patti Smith on March 9, 1976.