Patti Smith to record Dead song(s)

U.S. punk rocker Patti Smith has received one of France's top cultural honors. Smith, 58, was presented with the insignia of Commander of the Order of the Arts and Letters by Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres on Sunday. The ministry, in a statement, noted Smith's appreciation for 19th-century French poet Arthur Rimbaud and praised her as "one of the most influential artists in women's rock 'n' roll." In an interview published in Le Parisien Dimanche, Smith says she hopes to record a new album including hits from artists such as Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead and late French diva Edith Piaf.

from the Orlando Sentinal