The music world lost another female force today; the New York Times reports that Phoebe Snow, bluesy singer and guitarist, died Tuesday in Edison, N.J., from complications of a brain hemorrhage she had in January 2010. She was 60.
Most famous for her song “Poetry Man,” Snow was nominated for best new artist at the 1975 Grammy Awards.
According to her manager Sue Cameron, Snow “endured bouts of
blood clots, pneumonia and congestive heart failure since her stroke.”
Although I grew up listening to Phoebe Snow, I discovered quite a few revelatory things about her from reading the New York Times obituary.
After the jump, read six things you should know about the amazing Phoebe Snow and watch a few of her videos … she is deeply mourned.
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[Everything via the New York Times]
1. In 1975, Snow's daughter Valerie Rose was born with severe brain damage; Snow decided to care for her at home rather than
place her in an institution and dropped out of the spotlight.
2. Her first record, Phoebe Snow, came out in 1974, and “Poetry Man” took the record to No. 4 on the album
charts. Queen Latifah covered “Poetry Man” in her 2007 album Trav'lin' Light.
3. Rumors abounded that Jackson Browne was Poetry Man. “No, no, it's
somebody you wouldn't know. People just thought 'Poetry Man' was Browne
because he was the first act I toured with,” Ms. Snow told USA Today in
1989.
4. Many assumed she
was black, but Snow was born Phoebe Ann Laub to white Jewish parents in New York City
on July 17, 1950, and raised in Teaneck, N.J.
5. She named herself after Phoebe Snow, an advertising
character for a railroad.
6. She sang the theme for NBC's “A Different World” and the jingle
“Celebrate the Moments of Your Life” for General Foods International
Coffees. She also sang at the radio host Howard Stern's wedding to Beth
Ostrosky in 2008 and for President Bill Clinton, who asked her to
perform at Camp David during his presidency.
