Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1979
Frederick (song)
Buy Frederick (song) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
"'Frederick'" is a song written by Patti Smith, and released as lead single from Patti Smith Group 1979 album 'Wave'. The song is dedicated to Fred "Sonic" Smith, guitar player of the Detroit band MC5 and Smith's future husband.
The melody of "Frederick" is a homage to Bruce Springsteen's live arrangement of "Prove It All Night" from the then-recent Darkness Tour of 1978.
Reception
'Smash Hits' said, "Patti has been getting a lot of stick from her original admirers for 'selling out' and going pop. I think they're being short-sighted (not to mention cloth-eared). This is an excellent sample of her new work with producer Todd Rundgren."
Covers
The song was covered by Sandie Shaw in 1986. The B-side was entitled "Go Johnny Go", and had been written by Shaw as a tribute to Johnny Marr.
Charts
'Patti Smith Group'
{|class="wikitable"
! Chart (1979)
! Position
|-
| 'Billboard' Hot 100
| align="center" |90
|-
| UK Singles Chart
| align="center" |63
|}
Notes
Buy Frederick (song) now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1979