Todd Snyder, a singer-songwriter beloved in America's music scene for his funny but empathetic portraits of people struggling to survive in an uncaring world, died Friday. He was 59.
His death was announced in a post on his Instagram account that did not state the cause or location of his death. An earlier post signed “Friends and Family of Todd” stated that he was admitted to a hospital in Hendersonville, Tennessee, after having trouble breathing and that he was diagnosed with pneumonia; He previously canceled a tour this month after telling fans he was injured in a “vicious attack” outside a Salt Lake City hotel.
Often compared to similar John Prine And Kris Kristofferson – both mentored him at different times – Snyder wrote about “how poor people sometimes cope with pain and adversity”, he said New York Times in 2009. “A little drugs here, a little sex here, a little denial there.”
During a prolific recording career that spanned three decades, Snider recorded albums for labels owned by Prine and Jimmy Buffett and for his own company, Aimless Records. To many, however, he was most proficient on stage, where he turned his songs into a sort of running monologue about his tumultuous life.
Among his best-known tunes were the cheerful “Beer Run”; “Can't Complain” about a guy who has “nothing to lose because he has nothing to gain”; and “Okay, Guy,” which opens with a scene in which a friend catches him leafing through “that new book with nude pictures of Madonna.”
“Said she never thought I was a creep before,” he sings. “She said she never wanted to see me again / And I still don’t know why.”
In his 2014 memoir, Snyder told the story of how Garth Brooks called him into the studio to help him record a cover of “Alright Guy” under the guise of his alter ego, Chris Gaines.
“I was amazed even before Garth walked up and introduced himself,” Snyder wrote. “He said, 'I thought you had red hair,' because he saw me on the TV show Austin Uptown, and I dyed my hair red for that show. It wasn't supposed to be red. It was supposed to be dark brown. My plan was to look like John Fogerty, but instead I ended up looking like the guy from Dumb and Dumber To.” (Brooks didn't release the cover, although Snyder said that the country superstar sent him a check for $10,000 anyway.)
Todd Daniel Snyder was born on October 11, 1966 and grew up in Oregon before moving to Texas and then Nashville. His debut album, Songs for the Daily Planet, was released in 1994 on Buffett's Margaritaville label; it ended with an energetic acoustic ditty called “Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues,” in which he lovingly poked fun at the era's alternative rock boom:
Now, to quickly fit in, we wear flannel shirts.
We turn up our amps until it hurts
We have a bad attitude and what's more
When we play we look straight at the floor
A critical darling from the start, Snyder earned rave reviews with 2004's East Nashville Skyline, whose highlights include a characteristically long-winded account of the culture wars then roiling post-9/11 America—”Conservatives, Christians, right-wing Republicans, straight, white, American men,” as it's titled—and “The Ballad of Kings,” in which he ponders the meaning of the lyrics. songs. “Louis Louis.”
Among the many other records he has released are 2009's The Excitement Plan, produced by Don Was, and a 2012 collection of songs. Jerry Jeff Walkercountry songwriter who was a major influence on him. Snider's latest album, “High, Lonesome and then Some,” was released in October.
Snyder has been open throughout his life about his struggles with drugs and the chronic pain associated with spinal stenosis. “I do a lot of things to try to help it, but I also have to come to terms with it,” he said of his condition in interview last month with Rolling Stone. “Which wasn’t easy.” Information about survivors of Snyder's attack was not immediately available.
