Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, poet and artist. She was influential in the birth of punk rock with her 1975 debut album Horses. Called "Godmother of Punk", she integrated the beat poetry performance style with three-chord rock. Her allusions introduced American teens to 19th century French poetry while her "unladylike" language defied the disco era. Smith is most widely known for the song "Because the Night" which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen and reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. In 2005, Patti Smith was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture,and in 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American classical music composer. He is considered one of the most influential composers of the late-20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public (along with precursors such as Richard Strauss, Kurt Weill and Leonard Bernstein).

His music is described as minimalist, however he wishes to distance himself from this label, describing himself instead as a composer of "music with repetitive structures".Although his early, mature music is minimalist, he has evolved stylistically.Currently, he describes himself as a "Classicist", trained in harmony and counterpoint and studied Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert.