Horses is the debut studio album by American musician
Patti Smith, released on December 13, 1975 on
Arista Records. Smith, a fixture of the then-burgeoning New York punk rock music scene, began recording
Horses with her band in 1975 after being signed to
Arista Records, with
John Cale being enlisted to produce the album. With its fusion of simplistic
rock and roll structures and Smith's freeform,
Beat poetry-infused lyrics,
Horses was met with widespread critical acclaim upon its initial release. Despite a lack of airplay or a popular single to support the album, it nonetheless experienced modest commercial success, managing a top 50 placing on the US
Billboard 200.