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Patty Smyth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the lead singer of the band Scandal. For the 1970s punk singer, seePatti Smith.For the album, seePatty Smyth (album).

Patty Smyth
Smyth in April 2011 during the Tribeca Film Festival Vanity Fair party
Smyth in April 2011 during theTribeca Film FestivalVanity Fairparty
Background information
Birth namePatricia Smyth
Born(1957-06-26)June 26, 1957(age 67)
New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active1981–present
Labels
Websitepattysmythandscandal

Patricia Smyth(born June 26, 1957)[1]is an American singer and songwriter. She first came into national attention with the rock bandScandaland went on to record and perform as a solo artist. Her distinctive voice andnew waveimage gained broad exposure through video recordings aired on cable music video channels such asMTV.Her debut solo albumNever Enoughwas well received, and generated a pair ofTop 100hits. In the early 1990s she reached thetop 10with the hit single "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough,"a duet withDon HenleyofEagles.She performed and co-wrote withJames Ingramthe song "Look What Love Has Done" for the 1994 motion pictureJunior.The work earned her aGrammy Awardnomination forBest Song Written for Visual Media,as well as anAcademy Awardnomination forBest Original Song.

Musical career

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With Scandal

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Main article:Scandal (American band)

After growing up in theBrooklynneighborhood ofGerritsen Beach,Smyth joined Scandal aslead vocalistin 1981. The band released aself-titled debut EPthe next year. Featuring the song "Goodbye to You,"it went on to becomeColumbia Records' biggest sellingEP.In 1984, they put out their follow-up,Warrior.Buoyed byMTVairplay, the album peaked at No. 17 on the U.S.Billboard200chart, and the first song off the release, also titled "The Warrior,"was a Top 10 hit. However, despite their success, internal strife within the band led to their break-up soon afterward.

Solo career

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Following the end of Scandal, Smyth was invited by her friendEddie Van Halento join the bandVan Halento replaceDavid Lee Rothas lead singer. However, she declined the offer, because she was eight months pregnant and "It was just not the right time for me," she says now. "I was a New Yorker, I didn't want to live inL.A.... and those guys were drunk and fighting all the time ". In a 2023 interview on" Steve O's Wild Ride ",[2]Sammy Hagar stated that Eddie Van Halen and Patti Smyth were having a sexual relationship at the time. She guest-appeared onthe Hooters1985 albumNervous Nighton the song "Where Do the Children Go" as an accompanying vocalist.

Smyth released her first solo album,Never Enough,in 1987. It contained her version of theTom Waitssong "Downtown Train,"whichRod Stewartwould make a hit three years later, and the title track "Never Enough," which was co-written with members of the Hooters and based on a song of the same title that Hooters membersEric BazilianandRob Hymanhad written for their earlier band, Baby Grand. In 1988 she contributed theDiane Warrenpenned "I Run Right Back" to theCaddyshack IIsoundtrack. She put out another solo effort in 1992, the eponymousPatty Smyth.Off of that effort, she secured a hitrecordvia aduetwithDon Henleyof theEagles,titled "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough."This peaked at No. 2 on theBillboardHot 100,[3]and was certifiedgoldfor sales of 500,000. The album, also certified gold, featured an additional USTop 40hit with "No Mistakes" and also spawned the minor hit "I Should Be Laughing." Smyth had previously recorded with Henley as a backing singer on several songs on his albumsBuilding the Perfect BeastandThe End of the Innocence.

Smyth subsequently co-wrote the 1994 song "Look What Love Has Done," nominated for aGrammyand anAcademy Awardafter its inclusion in the soundtrack to the feature filmJunior.Further soundtrack commissions resulted in her writing and composing thetheme tune,"Wish I Were You," to the 1998 feature filmArmageddon.(Her husband, John McEnroe, claimed in his autobiography[4]that she was inspired to write the song by his own attempt at a musical career; she was struck by his excitement at playing music, when her own feelings about the music industry were much more ambivalent.) In 1999, Smyth sang lead vocals on "Ode To Billie Joe," a cover of the 1967Bobbie Gentryhit, on the albumSmokin' Sectionby Tom Scott & The L.A. Express.

In 2015, to promote the release of herChristmasalbum calledCome On December,she crowd-funded a campaign to support theHeadstrong Projectwith all the money raised on the pre-orders of her album going to the non-profit.[5]The album featured the single "Broken," and the music video for the single was released just beforeVeterans Day,and was filmed on the grounds of aVeterans of Foreign Warschapter. The album was released on November 20, 2015.[6]

Reunion with Scandal

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In 2004,VH1recruited Smyth and the surviving members of Scandal for aBands Reunitedepisode, resulting in a small reunion tour of concerts on theEast Coast of the United Statesin 2005. The next year, Columbia/Legacy released a new ScandalcompilationCD as part of theWe Are the '80sseries. The compilation contained three unreleased tracks from the 1982 recording sessions ( "Grow So Wise", "If You Love Me", "I'm Here Tonight" ) as well as "All My Life," previously available on theflip sideof "Goodbye to You". In July 2008,Billboardreported the upcoming release of new music by the band[7](featuring original members Keith Mack and Benjy King). They debuted their first single as a band ( "Hard for You to Love Me," also referred to as "Make It Hard" ) in over 24 years on January 17, 2009 inRidgefield, Connecticut.

Personal life

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Smyth in 2008

Smyth was married to musicianRichard Hellin 1985–86; they had a daughter. She met tennis playerJohn McEnroein 1993; their daughter was born in 1995, and the couple married in 1997. They have since had another daughter.[8]

Smyth and McEnroe live in aduplexon theUpper West SideofManhattan.[9]

Discography

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Albums

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Year Album Peak chart positions
US
[10] 		AUS
[11]
1987 Never Enough 66 —
1992 Patty Smyth 47 94
1998 Greatest Hits – Featuring Scandal — —
2015 Come On December[12] — —
2020 It's About Time[13] — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

Singles

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Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US
[3] 		US Main
[3] 		US AC
[3] 		AUS
[14] 		CAN
 CAN AC
 UK
[15]
1987 "Never Enough" 61 4 — — — — — Never Enough
"Downtown Train" 95 40 — — — — —
"Isn't It Enough" — 26 — — — — —
1992 "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough"(withDon Henley) 2 — 1 5 1 2 22 Patty Smyth
"No Mistakes"(uncredited harmony vocal byDon Henley) 33 — 4 127 — — —
1993 "I Should Be Laughing" 86 — — 153 — — —
"Shine" — — — — — — —
1994 "Look What Love Has Done" 106 — 23 — — — — Non-album single
2015 "Broken" — — — — — — — Come On December
2020 "Drive" — — — — — — — It's About Time
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

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  1. ^United Press International (June 21, 2002)."Today in Music: A look back at pop music".United Press International.Archivedfrom the original on July 31, 2024.
  2. ^Sammy Hagar is SHOCKINGLY Wealthy (And Generous) - Steve-O's Wild Ride #155,retrievedJuly 16,2023
  3. ^abcd"Patty Smyth - Awards".AllMusic.Archived fromthe originalon August 21, 2015.RetrievedJuly 23,2022.
  4. ^McEnroe, J., & Kaplan, J. (2003).You Cannot Be Serious.Berkley Trade.ISBN978-0-425-19008-1.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^"Patty Smyth Come On December on PledgeMusic".Pledge Music.Archived fromthe originalon August 2, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 8,2016.
  6. ^"Patty Smyth Releases 'Broken,' New Song, for Veteran's Day".People.RetrievedJanuary 8,2016.
  7. ^"Patty Smyth, Scandal to Reunite, Record".Billboard.RetrievedApril 25,2012.
  8. ^"Patty Smyth and John McEnroe Still Rockin'".People.RetrievedMay 7,2017.
  9. ^Myers, Marc (February 14, 2017)."John McEnroe: From Homes in Queens to a Central Park Duplex".The Wall Street Journal.RetrievedMarch 15,2019.
  10. ^"Patty Smyth Chart History: Billboard 200".Billboard.RetrievedOctober 16,2022.
  11. ^Ryan, Gavin (2011).Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010(PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 258.
  12. ^FOX (December 15, 2015)."Patty Smyth returns to performing with 'Come On December' - Story | WNYW".Fox5ny.RetrievedSeptember 4,2016.
  13. ^Brodsky, Rachel (July 23, 2020)."Patty Smyth On Turning Down Van Halen, Getting Patti Smith's Mail, And Releasing Her First New Music In 28 Years".Stereogum.RetrievedJuly 23,2020.
  14. ^"Patty Smyth ARIA Chart history to 2024".ARIA.RetrievedJuly 26,2024– via Imgur.N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  15. ^Roberts, David (2006).British Hit Singles & Albums(19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 510.ISBN1-904994-10-5.
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