Blank on Blank: Patti Smith's 1976 interview

“Rock ‘n roll is still warfare, total warfare all the time. You’re always fightin’, always fightin’.”

It’s certainly a fight Patti Smith has been winning for decades, as the musician/author is still actively releasing music and books more than 40 years into her influential career. It’s hard to remember a time when Smith hasn’t been a giant name, but back in 1976 she was known mostly as a poet and was just getting started in her music career.

As a part of its project to bring celebrity interviews to life through animation, Blank on Blank re-imagined an interview with Patti Smith from 1976, in which she talks about discovering poetry and rails against record companies for censoring one of her songs.

“You tell the kids that I say not to buy it,” Smith says of the censored track. “You tell them that’s against my wishes and I fought and fought for the song not to be censored.”

Watch the full animated interview below.