Pitchfork

Patti Smith helped launch her career with a cover of Van Morrison's "Gloria", and now, at the age of 60, she's coming full circle. Billboard.com reports that Smith will release a covers album this spring, and it will includes material originally recorded by Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Nirvana, Neil Young, and, Smith says, "some people you'd be very surprised at."

Oh god, we hope she isn't covering "Crazy" too.

In addition, the LP features guest appearances from Television's Tom Verlaine, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, the Black Crowes' Richard Robinson, playwright/actor Sam Shepard, and Smith's children Jackson and Jesse. It's a family affair.

As reported Monday (January 8), following a March 12 ceremony at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Smith will be admitted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She plans to perform at the event. Other 2007 inductees include R.E.M., the Ronettes, Van Halen, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

And that's not all the punk godmother is up to right now. Smith currently has a photography exhibit, "A Pythagorean Traveler", on display (through January 13) at New York City's Robert Miller Gallery. She'll make an appearance at another gallery, the Boston Institute of Contemporary Arts, on February 21 for a spoken word/poetry show.

In other news, Billboard.com reports that Smith and her band are currently learning songs associated with the "Summer of Love" era of the late 1960s for an upcoming tour.

Finally, further deluxe reissues are on their way from Smith's Arista back catalog, following the 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition of Horses in 2005.

[photo by Angelo Cricchi]