Because the Night - Patti Smith (1979) 5/1/21

Patti Smith was--and still is--known as the "Punk Poet Laureate" for her work in combining poetry and rock music.

She's in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. On top of that, Rolling Stone Magazine ranks Patti at #47 on their list of the "Greatest Artists of the Rock Era."

And yet, her "Great Song of 1979" wasn't punk at all. It's actually a song she finished writing for Bruce Springsteen: "Because the Night."

Bruce was putting together his "Darkness on the Edge of Town Album" and started working on the song...only to realize that it wasn't going to fit his overall theme of "freedom from dread." Plus, it was a love song, and Bruce has said he didn't feel comfortable writing love songs in those days.

So he shelved it.

A short while later, Bruce's producer, Jimmy Iovine, convinced him to let Patti finish it.

Patti put it off for a while, but one night, while she was waiting for her future husband and muse (Fred "Sonic" Smith) to call home, she sat down and finished the lyrics in just a few hours--pouring her feelings for Fred into every line.

At first, Patti was against recording it because she felt the song was still Bruce's, but The Boss and Jimmy Iovine convinced her she'd do a great job with it. And she did.

The song reached #13 in Both the US and Canada, and #5 in the UK. It was, by far, her biggest hit...and certainly an anomaly for a punk rocker.

In later years, Bruce and Patti would sometimes appear at each other's concerts and sing the song as a duet!

Then, in 1993-94, 10,000 Maniacs released a cover that made the song a Top 10 Hit, reaching #7 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock and Alternative Airplay Charts...as well as #10 on Canada's Top 40!

"Because the Night:" A great song for 1979 for Patti Smith (Thanks, Bruce!), and in the mid-'90s by 10,000 Maniacs.

Patti:

10,000 Maniacs:

Patti & Bruce: