Controversial Patti Smith Song Removed From Streaming Services

The Patti Smith track, Rock N Roll N****r, has been removed from streaming services.

The song featured on Smith's 1978 album, Easter, which houses one of her biggest hits, Because The Night. The song remains on physical copies and when people buy the full album download.

Smith co-wrote the song with her guitarist, Lenny Kaye. The album's liner notes read, "N****r no invented for color it was MADE FOR THE PLAGUE". The word (art) must be redefined — all mutants and the new babies born sans eyebrow and tonsil … any man who extends beyond the classic form is a n****r."

The racial slur appears multiple times on the track to describe the figures, Jimi Hendrix, Jackson Pollack, Jesus Christ, and grandma. While Smith hasn't played the song live since 2019, it was part of her setlists for decades. Marilyn Manson has covered Rock N Roll N****r, so has Courtney Love, and Trent Reznor remixed it and included it on the 1994 Natural Born Killers soundtrack.

As reported by Rolling Stone, it is unknown how much involvement Smith has in the song's removal from Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music. She hasn't responded to the publication comment, nor has Lenny Kaye or representatives for the streaming services.

Patti Smith would have headlined the 2021 Bluesfest had it not been cancelled, alongside Bon Iver and Jimmy Barnes. They would have been joined by George Benson, Kasey Chambers, The Teskey Brothers, John Butler, Xavier Rudd, The Cat Empire, Kool & The Gang, Weddings Parties Anything, and many more.

Bluesfest 2023 promises to be a life-changing event, with the first line-up announcement including Bonnie Raitt, Mavis Staples, Lucinda Williams, Jackson Browne, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Gang Of Youths, and the second announcement featuring Counting Crows, St Paul & The Broken Bones, Allison Russell, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Vintage Trouble, and The Doobie Brothers, all on a stacked line-up that celebrates the best of blues, rock, R&B, and soul music.

Byron Events Farm will host Bluesfest from Thursday the 6th to Monday the 10th of April 2023, with a wide range of ticketing and camping options for each festival attendee. 

For more details, click here.