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Frederick Dewey Smith (September 14, 1948 – November 4, 1994), known professionally as Fred "Sonic" Smith, was an American guitarist and member of the rock band MC5. He married and raised two children with poet and fellow rock musician Patti Smith .
Smith (left) and her daughter Jesse Smith at the Time 100 gala in 2011. In 1979, at approximately age 32, Smith separated from her long-time partner Allen Lanier and met Fred "Sonic" Smith, the former guitar player for Michigan-based rock band MC5 and Sonic's Rendezvous Band. Like Patti, Fred adored poetry.
Sonic's Rendezvous Band was formed by members of four Michigan rock bands: Fred "Sonic" Smith, formerly of the MC5 – guitar, vocals; Scott Morgan, formerly of The Rationals, a soul-influenced Detroit band of the 1960s – guitar, vocals; Gary Rasmussen, formerly of The Up and more recently, Broken Arrow [2] – bass
"Frederick" is a song written by Patti Smith, and released as the lead single from Patti Smith Group's 1979 album Wave. The song is dedicated to Fred "Sonic" Smith, guitar player of the Detroit band MC5 and Smith's future husband.
In 1973 Fred "Sonic" Smith formed a new group called Ascension, consisting of Smith on guitar, Thompson on drums, Davis on piano, and to replace Davis on bass a local working bass player, John Hefty, was brought in. They assembled a set of mostly original music and a few R&B and rock covers.
Kramer and guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith co-founded the MC5 in 1963, with vocalist Rob Tyner, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson joining shortly after. The MC5 became known for their powerful live performances and radical left-wing political stance.
Dream of Life was her first album after the dissolution of The Patti Smith Group, and the only album that she made with her husband Fred "Sonic" Smith.Lead single "People Have the Power" received some album-oriented rock airplay at the time, and later was revived by Michael Stipe as a theme song for the 2004 Vote for Change concerts.
In 1977, Tyner collaborated with Eddie & the Hot Rods for a 7-inch release coinciding with a promotional UK tour to promote MC5 vinyl reissues. Simultaneously back in the US, Tyner had launched "the New MC5" which later operated as the Rob Tyner Band and laid the foundation for "Rob Tyner & the National Rock Group", a project which was prolific but issued no recordings.