What happened to Fred Sonic Smith? All we know about Patti Smith’s husband and children 

To many, Fred “Sonic” Smith is not a household name, but he has left an indelible mark on the rock music scene due to his own musical legacy and romantic ties to legendary artist Patti Smith. Fred Smith’s life encompasses everything from his time with the revolutionary band MC5 to his settled domestic life in Michigan.

He died of heart failure in 1994, at the age of 44, at St. John’s Hospital in Detroit. His death was a terrible loss for Patti and their children. In the years since, Patti gradually found her way back to music, funneling her sadness into her work.

Looking back at the couple's life, Fred Smith first met Patti Smith in 1976; the punk poet and musician was already making a name for herself in New York’s art and music scenes. According to the Detroit Free Press, the two met at Detroit’s Lafayette Coney Island and soon forged a deep romance.

Patti later described their love as “mystical,” a sentiment repeated throughout her writing and interviews. They married in 1980 and settled in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, where they raised a family. Patti fondly remembers their late nights, long drives, and even summer nights on a vintage yacht in their backyard in her memoir M Train.

Fred and Patti had two kids, a son, Jackson, and a daughter, Jesse. Although both parents did their best to protect their family from fame, their children have made occasional appearances in the spotlight.

Jackson has followed in his father’s footsteps with an interest in music as he plays guitar, while Jesse has pursued a creative path through writing and visual arts.

More about Fred Smith’s early career and rise to fame and Patti Smith’s most recent controversy

Born in West Virginia and raised in Detroit, Fred Smith started playing guitar at an early age and soon made his mark on the local music scene. By the mid-1960s, he was part of MC5 (Motor City Five), a group that, according to the New York Times, developed a reputation for its aggressive sound and unapologetic political stance.

MC5 was a huge hit as a member of the White Panther Party’s entertainment arm. Kick Out the Jams, their 1969 live album, is considered one of the most iconic records of its era. After MC5 broke up in the early 1970s, Smith formed Sonic’s Rendezvous Band with members of other major Detroit groups like The Stooges.

Patti Smith, on the other hand, has been caught up in a recent controversy. New York City restaurant owner Keith McNally, in his forthcoming memoir, I Regret Almost Everything, describes troubling encounters with singer Patti Smith in the 1970s.

McNally, who became famous in 2022 for briefly banning James Corden from his restaurant Balthazar during alleged staff mistreatment, said that Smith partook in similar outbursts at waitstaff while she dined regularly in One Fifth restaurant.

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He claims that Patti Smith was so nasty that she once made a waitress cry for failing to serve the bread. He even compared her to James Corden, saying:

"In fact, there was always a squabble whenever she’d arrive because none of the staff wanted to wait on her. She was the James Cordon of her day," he wrote.

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