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𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 First Ave., NYC | 1977

— David Godlis

#television #television band #punk rock #proto punk #musicians #tom verlaine #richard lloyd #billy ficca #fred smith #singer songwriter #1970s #70s music #70s #70s punk #70s nostalgia #70s men #my edits

In memory of Fred Smith, the original bassist of Blondie and, far more famously, the bassist of Television after Richard Hell left the band, who would have turned 78 today.

📸 Lynn Goldsmith

#punk #punks #punkrock #punklegends #oldschoolpunk #fred smith #television #blondie #history #punkrockhistory #otd

RIP Fred Smith

April 10, 1948 – February 5, 2026

#fred smith #television #blondie #the fleshtones #february 5 #april 10

Tom Verlaine - Theatre Le Palace, Paris, France, June 23, 1982

So long to Television bassist / Hudson Valley winemaker Fred Smith, one of my favorite bassists ever since I first dropped the needle on Marquee Moon way back when. Though the focus was usually on Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, Smith provided the perfect bedrock for that twin-guitar glory. Steady, fluid, playful, inventive — and never particularly flashy. Listening to his work with both Television and Verlaine solo these past couple days, pretty much every moment I thought: "That's exactly right."

Verlaine, never one to dole out undue compliments, said of Fred: “All I know is when we got Fred it clicked immediately. At the first rehearsal me and Lloyd [were] looking at each other and thinking ‘God, this is a real relief.’ It was like having a lightning rod you could spark around. Something was there that wasn’t there before.”

Verlaine sparked around that lightning rod for pretty much the rest of his life. There are dozens upon dozens of Television/Verlaine live recordings to check out in the Doom & Gloom archives, but here's something I haven't shared before: a nice 1982 FM broadcast of Tom, Smith, Jay Dee Daugherty and Jimmy Ripp in Paris. Not the full show, but what we've got is good enough, with killer versions of "Coming Apart," "True Story," "Breaking In My Heart" and more. Check out Smith's immoveable line on the doomy post-punk dub splatter of "Clear It Away" for a good example of his considerable skills.

The whole thing wraps up with (what else?) a lengthy "Marquee Moon." This one is unique for Daugherty's electro drum pads, which come to the fore hilariously at some points. Hey, it was 1982, drums had to sound that way. It was the LAW, kids! (I also like that the French DJ starts to come in early towards the end, only to be interrupted by the return of that riff. Rookie move, mon frere!)

#tom verlaine #fred smith #television

When we first met, I had no idea who he was, but I knew instantly he would be my life. Such is the terrible mystery of love, that draws us from all that we know.

— Patti Smith, Bread of Angels: A Memoir (Random House, November 4, 2025)

#fred smith #patti smith #bread of angels #love

Television

#In better spirits than usual too #television #billy ficca #tom verlaine #richard lloyd #fred smith

Photograph of Fred "Sonic" Smith, "unspecified", 1969

#fred smith #mc5 #the mc5 #60s #sixties #rock #classic rock

Fred Smith, Who Left Blondie for the Band Television, Dies at 77

Musician Fred Smith—and not Fred "Sonic" Smith, who played with and married Patti Smith, who reportedly encouraged the non-Sonic Smith to join Television while she was dating that band's leader, Tom Verlaine—has died, age 77.

Smith, né Frederick Edward Lefkowitz, joined Television, replacing Richard Hell, and stayed through its two albums, then rejoining after the band re-formed. He also played with a variety of other acts including The Roches and The Fleshtones.

aav.

Heartbeat bass on "Marquee Moon," Spanish TV 1984: