The Smiths
Formed in Manchester in 1982, the Smiths were built on the partnership of singer-lyricist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, whose chiming, arpeggiated Rickenbacker figures gave a jangling counterweight to Morrissey's wry, literate, often melancholic words. Across four studio albums before splitting in 1987, they became one of the most influential British guitar bands of the 1980s, a touchstone for indie and jangle-pop acts that followed. Their sound and Morrissey's outsized persona cast a long shadow over the alternative rock of the decades after.
Before the Smiths, Morrissey ran the New York Dolls' UK fan club and later wrote a short book about them, and their trashy, camp glam-rock swagger fed directly into his own theatrical, provocative frontman persona.
listen forPlay the New York Dolls' 'Personality Crisis' and catch its brash, glammy stomp and preening vocal, then put on the Smiths' 'Sheila Take a Bow' — Morrissey struts through a similar glam-rock strut and knowing, dressed-up theatricality.
Johnny Marr has cited the Byrds and Roger McGuinn's ringing 12-string Rickenbacker as a foundational influence on his guitar style, and the bright, cascading jangle they pioneered is the direct ancestor of Marr's own sound.
listen forListen to the shimmering, bell-like 12-string riff of the Byrds' 'Mr. Tambourine Man', then cue the Smiths' 'This Charming Man' — Marr chases the same chiming, arpeggiated Rickenbacker brightness, just faster and more restless.
Morrissey has spoken of Patti Smith's 'Horses' as a formative record, and her fusion of poetry and rock — literate, incantatory, unafraid of a wordy lyric — helped license his own bookish, declamatory approach to singing.
listen forPlay Patti Smith's 'Gloria' and follow how she half-speaks a torrent of words before the melody lifts, then put on the Smiths' 'The Boy with the Thorn in His Side' — Morrissey rides a similarly literate, tumbling stream of language over the jangle.