Todd Snider, a singer-songwriter prominent in the country and Americana music scene for three decades, has died.
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Rolling Stone confirmed the “Alright Guy” singer’s death, stating he died Friday following a reported pneumonia diagnosis earlier this week.
Snider was 59.
“Aimless, Inc. Headquarters is heartbroken to share that our Founder, our Folk Hero, our Poet of the World, our Vice President of the Abrupt Change Dept., the Storyteller, our beloved Todd Daniel Snider has departed this world,” a message posted earlier this morning read on Snider’s Facebook page.
“He relayed so much tenderness and sensitivity through his songs, and showed many of us how to look at the world through a different lens,” the post continued. “He got up every morning and started writing, always working towards finding his place among the songwriting giants that sat on his record shelves, those same giants who let him into their lives and took him under their wings, who he studied relentlessly. Guy Clark, John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Jeff Walker…”
“How do we move forward without the one who gave us countless 90-minute distractions from our impending doom?” the post concluded. “The one who always had 18 minutes to share a story. We’ll do it by carrying his stories and songs that contain messages of love, compassion, and peace with us. Today, put on one of your favorite Todd Snider records and ‘play it loud enough to wake up all of your neighbors or at least loud enough to always wake yourself up.’ We love you, Todd, sail on, old friend. We’ll see you again out there on the road somewhere down the line. You will always be a force of nature.”
Country and Americana Legend Todd Snider’s Death Follows a Series of Headline Making Incidents
News of Snider’s death comes after a series of troubling events, including his arrest in Utah while trying to return to a hospital after being discharged. This incident occurred ahead of what would have been the second stop on his tour, which was halted after just one show.
After returning home to Tennessee last week, Snider experienced difficulty breathing and was hospitalized in Hendersonville.
“We learned from his doctors that he had been quietly suffering from an undiagnosed case of walking pneumonia,” Snider’s team explained on Instagram on Friday. “Our beloved brother’s condition has become more complicated, and he’s since been transferred for additional treatment. His care team and those closest to him are by his side and doing everything they can.”
Snider, born in Portland, Oregon, in 1966, moved to Tennessee in the 1990s. He released his debut album, Songs For The Daily Planet, under Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville label. The album reached #23 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart.
He recorded several more albums for independent labels throughout his career. In 2021, Tom Jones recorded Snider’s song “Talking Reality Television Blues,” the same year Snider was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.
Meanwhile, Snider signed with major labels like Capitol Records and MCA Nashville. However, he maintained his status as a DIY icon throughout his career.