Patti Smith makes shock confession about biological father

Patti Smith just revealed how she discovered the man who raised her was not her biological father.

The 77-year-old musician and writer, often described as the “godmother of punk,” revisits her life and career in Bread of Angels, published on November 4 by Random House, saying the revelation about her dad changed her understanding of her family.

The book, which follows Patti’s National Book Award-winning memoir Just Kids, traces her journey from childhood in Chicago to her years in music and motherhood.

It also includes the discovery, made through DNA testing, that she was not fathered by the man she grew up calling her dad.

Speaking to PEOPLE magazine, Patti said the discovery caused her to rethink the story she had always believed in.

The Gloria hitmaker said: “I wasn't sure what to do with this information, because I wanted the book, I was writing to be very truthful, and all of a sudden, I had a parallel truth.”

“And I felt if I didn't write about it, then it felt like truth was compromised,” Patti added.

The revelation began with a conversation between Patti and her mother, Beverly, in 2002.

In 2012, Patti and her sister, Linda, took a DNA test and learned they were half-sisters.

Patti writes in her book: “We wept. The results of our test put a great strain on my thought processes and for some time, I was unable to write.”

“I had all but accepted the fact that I was fathered by my mother’s Uncle Joe, and fully expected the results to confirm it,” she further wrote.