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Fred "Sonic" Smith
Fred "Sonic" Smith
Background information
Birth name	Frederick Dewey Smith
Born	September 13, 1949(1949-09-13), West Virginia
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	November 4, 1994 (aged 45), Detroit, Michigan
Genres	Protopunk
Occupations	Guitarist, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1964–1988
Labels	Rhino, Elektra
Associated acts	MC5, Sonic's Rendezvous Band, Patti Smith
Website	SonicsRendezvousBand.net

Fred "Sonic" Smith (September 13, 1949 – November 4, 1994) was an American guitarist who is best known as a member of the band MC5. He later went on to form Sonic's Rendezvous Band, which released one single, "City Slang", during Smith's lifetime.^[1]

Biography

Frederick Dewey Smith was born in West Virginia. He was married to singer and poet Patti Smith, until a sudden fatal heart attack, at the age of forty-five. He and Smith collaborated on her 1988 album Dream of Life. Smith's 1996 album Gone Again features a tribute to her late husband.

The Smiths had a son, Jackson, (born 1982) and a daughter, Jesse, (born 1987).

Influence

In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine included Smith in its list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.^[2] The band Sonic Youth took its name from Smith's nickname.

See also

• List of guitarists

References

External links

• Fred "Sonic" Smith at Allmusic
• Fred "Sonic" Smith at the Internet Movie Database
• Fred "Sonic" Smith at Find a Grave