There’s something about holding on to the past greats when it comes to music and movies that’s hard to avoid and entirely desirable from a fan’s standpoint. Patty Smyth is one of those that has managed to contribute to this same past and her voice and talent has become something of an icon in many ways since she’s helped to build a legacy that continues to this day and allows us to keep looking back occasionally to remember what makes entertainment great and why it’s important to remember those pioneers and artists that came before what we know now as music. Even a large number of musicians in this current era would have to agree that their own inspirations came from people like Patty since without those folks laying down the tracks they did it’s easy to assume that the music we have now would be much, much different.
Here are a few things you might not have known about Patty Smyth.
10. She’s enjoyed a solo career at one point.
Despite being the lead singer of the band Scandal and the fact that they were becoming quite successful when they first came out there was simply too much internal strife among the band and she parted ways with them not long after they got going.
9. Patty has been married to former tennis star John McEnroe for a while now.
The two have been together since 1997, which is a nice big chunk of time when you think about celebrities of any caliber and how some of the most prominent and possibly happy tend to break up after just a few years. Thankfully their marriage is going strong and they’ve made it work for quite some time.
8. She worked as a waitress at a steak house before getting her big break.
So to be honest Patty knows what it’s like to work among the people and possibly be insulted, worked too hard, and given too little when it comes to making a living. Such folks, and there are a lot of them in the entertainment industry, have a perspective on life that’s best to never lose since it affords them a chance to be a lot more in tune with their fans.
7. At one time she had an offer to join Van Halen.
This seems like it would have been an offer of a lifetime and something that no one could possibly pass on, but she did. For whatever reason she didn’t want to get involved with the band, though there were no hard feelings over it, at least none that were openly discussed it would seem.
6. Her mother was a big show business enthusiast when she was growing up.
It would kind of seem as though her mom might have been a pretty big influence in her life since she was a trapeze artist and a band manager, someone that basically knew the ins and outs of show business on some level at least. That could have had something to do with Patty deciding that performing in front of people would be a desirable career.
5. She got up on stage for the first time at age 15.
Patty started playing gigs at local venues and small places where there weren’t as many people but it was still possible to get noticed. You might not hear about it as often but scouts are often ranging far and wide to find the best new sound to put on air and in front of the public. That’s how the business runs after all, in part.
4. Her songs with Scandal show up pretty often on TV and in movies.
This song, The Warrior, is used very often no matter that it goes uncredited a lot and doesn’t seem to get noticed as much. All you have to do is listen and you’ll hear it occasionally as one show or movie or another uses it as a theme or a backdrop.
3. She and Scandal had a reunion tour in 2005.
It’s nice that they did get back together since it would seem that whatever was going on between the band members was finally sorted out after a couple decades. Chances are it was sorted out well before that but Patty’s solo career had kept her from any kind of reunification.
2. Patty was married once before McEnroe.
She was married to rock star Richard Hell for a while and they did have a kid together. But things happen and people grow apart, and they divorced in 1987.
1. She was born and raised in New York.
New York is just as diverse as any other place, probably more so than many, but there seems to be an attitude that hangs about New Yorkers at time that provides them with a very distinct set of mannerisms at times. It doesn’t affect everyone but it seems very pervasive. Obviously this happens in every part of the US.
In all honesty she contributed a lot to pop culture, but it’s fairly easy to think that people have forgotten her just a bit. It’s still important to remember now and again though.
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