Official website: http://www.pbs.org/americanmasters | #AmericanMastersPBS

On July 31, 1997, Patti Smith shared her thoughts on the 70s rock and roll scene and how Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground inspired her as a young girl in South Jersey. Interview conducted by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, director of "American Masters—Lou Reed: Rock And Roll Heart" (1998).

Chapters:
00:00 How jazz gave rock and roll new structure
01:35 Shaking up the music scene in the 1970s
05:07 Patti Smith's introduction to the Velvet Underground
07:58 How Smith related to Lou Reed's "cerebrally sensual music"
09:22 Smith breaks down the song "Heroin"
12:19 Smith's rejection of labeling artists

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The American Masters Digital Archive includes over 1,000 hours of footage from more than 1,000 original, never-before-seen, full, raw interviews: a treasure trove of the movers and shakers of American culture, including Maya Angelou, Patti Smith, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Matthew Broderick, Carl Reiner, Joan Rivers, Audra McDonald, Lee Grant, Patricia Bosworth, Sidney Lumet, William Buckley and many others.

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Now in its 36th season on PBS, American Masters was recently nominated for an IDA Award, two Primetime Emmy® Awards and was awarded two News & Documentary Emmys. The series illuminates the lives and creative journeys of our nation’s most enduring artistic giants—those who have left an indelible impression on our cultural landscape—through compelling, unvarnished stories. Setting the standard for documentary film profiles, the series has earned widespread critical acclaim and 28 Emmy Awards—including 10 for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series and five for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special—14 Peabodys, three Grammys, two Producers Guild Awards, an Oscar, and many other honors. To further explore the lives and works of more than 250 masters past and present, the American Masters website offers full episodes, film outtakes, filmmaker interviews, the podcast American Masters: Creative Spark, educational resources, digital original series and more. The series is a production of The WNET Group.