Patti Smith reveals shocking truth about growing up with her ‘father’

Patti Smith recalls figuring out her true relationship with the person she grew up calling her father.

The 77-year-old punk singer-songwriter reveals shocking and heartfelt details of life and career in Bread of Angels, her latest memoir, which was published on November 4 by Random House.

The Because the Night vocalist in her memoir disclosed how she figured out that the person she grew up calling father was not biologically related to her.

She further admits that this truth about the identity of her dad, which she found out after conducting a DNA test, completely changed her view of the family.

While speaking to PEOPLE, the Godmother of punk said: “I wasn't sure what to do with this information, because I wanted the book I was writing to be very truthful, and all of a sudden, I had a parallel truth.”

“And I felt if I didn't write about it, then it felt like truth was compromised,” she continued.

This spiral of truth for the Just Kids author began after a private conversation with her mother, Beverly, in 2002.

Patti and her sister Linda decided to conduct a DNA test to find the truth behind their relationship, only to find out they were half-sisters.

The poet explained the aftermath of the DNA result in her book: “We wept. The results of our test put a great strain on my thought processes and for some time, I was unable to write.”

“I had all but accepted the fact that I was fathered by my mother’s Uncle Joe, and fully expected the results to confirm it,” she revealed.

Patti Smith is known to be the first established masculine-presenting woman icon in the industry. She was married to the American guitarist and member of the rock band MC5, Fred Smith, till his death on November 4, 1994.