Patty Smyth
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- Note: Patty Smyth is sometimes confused with Patti Smith, the early punk musician.
Patty Smyth (born June 26, 1957 in New York City, New York, USA) first enjoyed mainstream success in 1982 as vocalist and lead singer of the band Scandal. That band's self-titled debut release became Columbia Records' biggest selling EP ever, and was followed by a further hit in 1984, "The Warrior".
In the mid-'80s, Smyth became friends with Valerie Bertinelli and her then-husband, Eddie Van Halen. When David Lee Roth left the band Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen invited Smyth to replace Roth as the band's lead singer. Smyth declined the offer.[citation needed]
Smyth dated punk musician Richard Hell for two years; their daughter, Ruby, was born in 1985. In April 1997, Smyth married John McEnroe; the couple have two daughters, Anna and Ava.
Following two solo albums in 1987 and 1992, she secured a further hit record via a duet with Don Henley of The Eagles; "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" peaked at number 2 in the US charts and went gold. Its parent album, Patty Smyth, also went gold and featured an additional Top-40 hit with "No Mistakes", as well as "I Should Be Laughing", a minor hit. She had previously recorded with Henley as a backing vocalist on several songs on his albums Building The Perfect Beast and The End of the Innocence.
She subsequently co-wrote the 1994 song "Look What Love Has Done", nominated for a Grammy and an Academy Award after its inclusion on the soundtrack to Junior. Further soundtrack commissions resulted in her penning the theme tune, "Wish I Were You", to the 1998 hit movie Armageddon.
As a result of her renewed popularity, Columbia issued a retrospective album, Greatest Hits -- Featuring Scandal. Two new songs were included, including "Carnival Lights". The song, co-written with Bob Thiele Jr., concerned her mother Betty Smyth's years as a trapeze artist. Smyth set out to promote the album on an acoustic tour, employing ex-Bullet Lavolta guitarist Duke Roth as her sideman.
In 2004, VH1 recruited the surviving members of Scandal for a Bands Reunited episode resulting in a small reunion tour. In January 2005,after getting back together on "Bands Reunited" on VH1, she and Scandal are on tour.In 2006, Columbia/Legacy released a new Scandal compilation CD as part of the We Are The 80's series. The new compilation contained three unreleased tracks from 1982 recording sessions ("Grow So Wise", "If You Leave Me", "I'm Here Tonight") as well as "All My Life", previously available on the flip side of "Goodbye To You".
"Goodbye to You" was one of her more popular songs, and still is to this day.
[edit] Albums
- Never Enough (1987) #66 US
- Patty Smyth (1992) #47 US
- Greatest Hits- Featuring Scandal (1998)
- We Are The 80's (2006)
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | US MSR | US A.C. | UK singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | "Downtown Train" | 95 | 40 | - | - | Never Enough |
| 1987 | "Never Enough" | 61 | 4 | - | - | Never Enough |
| 1987 | "Isn't It Enough" | - | 26 | - | - | Never Enough |
| 1992 | "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" (with Don Henley) | 2 | - | 1 | 22 | Patty Smyth |
| 1992 | "No Mistakes" | 33 | - | 4 | - | Patty Smyth |
| 1993 | "I Should Be Laughing" | 86 | - | - | - | Patty Smyth |
| 1995 | "Look What Love Has Done (Theme From "Junior")" | 106 | - | 23 | - | CD single |
