Phoebe Snow, who sang 1975 hit 'Poetry Man,' dies

[n2doc]

Source: AP

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

(04-26) 07:14 PDT New York (AP) --

Phoebe Snow, a bluesy singer, guitarist and songwriter whose "Poetry Man" was a defining hit of the 1970s but who then largely dropped out of the spotlight to care for her disabled daughter, has died.

Snow, who was nominated for best new artist at the 1975 Grammys, died Tuesday morning in Edison, N.J., from complications of a brain hemorrhage she suffered in January 2010, said Rick Miramontez, her longtime friend and public relations representative. She was 58.

Snow's manager, Sue Cameron, said the singer endured bouts of blood clots, pneumonia and congestive heart failure since her stroke.

"The loss of this unique and untouchable voice is incalculable," Cameron said. "Phoebe was one of the brightest, funniest and most talented singer-songwriters of all time and, more importantly, a magnificent mother to her late brain-damaged daughter, Valerie, for 31 years. Phoebe felt that was her greatest accomplishment."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/04/26/entertainment/e070000D65.DTL&tsp=1

[Voltaire]

1. For my money, one of the greatest songs ever

Rest in peace Phoebe

[xchrom]

2. oh my god. very sad. nt

[ThatsMyBarack]

73. OOPS! Never mind!

I got 'em mixed up because I know they were both on Saturday Night Live in the 70s. :blush:

[Le Taz Hot]

75. That was Janice Ian

;-)

[Gidney N Cloyd]

3. I remember her writing about her daughter on the liner notes of her big album back then.

"Pink and perfect" I think was the phrase.
Such a beautiful voice. What a loss.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. I remember it well.

Now, it's so long ago.

[Lucinda]

5. Youtube vid link of Poetry Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OxTVxGhHFM

[EFerrari]

18. Harpo's Blues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SESmndcKI0&feature=related

[me b zola]

65. Beautiful, just beautiful

Thank you for that

[Kurovski]

6. No! She's too young.

Dammit. Oh well.

Music that was a pleasure in life, a voice with an unusual and distinctive quality. Many thanks, and RIP. :(

[elleng]

7. Here she is.

http://www.mp3rocket.com/mp3/-1_00/Do-Right-Woman-Man-Phoebe-Snow.htm

[Richardo]

8. One of the best concert performers I've ever seen...

...a great woman and mother, and an incredible voice. Condolences to her friends and family.

[wtmusic]

10. Check out this live video of "Poetry Man".

She was the real deal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OxTVxGhHFM

[FredMertz]

9. Saw her on stage with Donald Fagen...

in Woodstock in 2007. Being a big Steely Dan fan, seeing Fagen in a small venue was great - but Phoebe Snow brought the house down. What an incredible voice...I'll never forget watching her sing Shakey Ground that night. May she rest in peace.

[callous taoboy]

43. Saw them in 91 in Cinci: "New York Rock and Soul Review."

That was a fine night, and Phoebe was great.

[FiveGoodMen]

54. That outfit produced a CD with Phoebe singing At Last (the Etta James tune)

She was fantastic!

[callous taoboy]

55. I'm tellin' you, Bozz Scaggs, Phoebe, Michael McDonald, Don and Walt-

They were all there on that tour. Yes, and the recording that came out as "New York Rock and Soul Review" was stellar.

[Still Blue in PDX]

62. Oh, my -- I have that album somewhere and had totally forgotten about it.

I wore out the cassette in my car.

Gone too soon. So sad.

[nolabear]

11. Oh my god! One of the best songs of all time is Phoebe w/ Paul Simon on "Gone at Last"

http://youtu.be/leWjp_CFt50

Rest in peace, dear Lady.

[gratuitous]

13. Oh yeah

Those notes at the end? Still can cause goosebumps. Just when you think she's done, she goes one higher. Then again. And again.

[Blue_In_AK]

26. Yes, indeed.

I have that on my iPod.

[ManOutOfTime]

53. x2 - I love that song ...

The night was black, the roads were icy, snow was fallin', drifts were high ...
I've had a long streak of bad luck but I'm prayin' it's gone at last ...

[Le Taz Hot]

76. I had completely forgotten about that song.

Thanks for posting it and to Lady Phoebe, go with the goddess.

[louslobbs]

12. Thank you for all of the wonderful music you left behind, you were taken from us way too soon.

A decent human being, a talented performer and taken from this earth way too soon. May your star and its energy continue to burn brightly out in the universe. My condolences to all of the family members.
Lou

[Cheviteau]

14. Sad

Best two albums in my collection are Phoebe's "Second Childhood" and Dylan's "Blood on The Tracks". I'm 70+ and still listen to them both as often as I can.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. R.I.P.

:cry:

I loved that song and I loved how she sang it. Queen Latifah recently covered the song on one of her albums a few years ago and that also gets played on smooth jazz stations. But no one can mistake Phoebe's distinctive voice.

My blessings to someone who gave and gave and kept giving.

RIP

[Plucketeer]

16. Sad, sad news

While I hadn't followed her in recent years, I was SO SMITTEN with that voice and the words it carried when she first hit the charts. Heh - her first two albums, I musta wore the grooves clean thru! Of course, I love Poetry Man, but there's so many great numbers she put her unique stamp on. Eight years younger than me - it ain't right. :cry:

[alp227]

17. never heard that song before, will check it out, RIP Phoebe n/t

[devilgrrl]

19. :-(

:-(

[upi402]

20. Remember her high notes?

Was that falsetto? Incredible vocalist. RIP

[Le Taz Hot]

77. I can answer that:

Not a falsetto as women don't have falsettos. The high notes are her "head voice" as opposed to the lower notes produced by her "chest voice."

[Bluenorthwest]

21. An amazing singer with an astonishing voice

So much love in her pipes.

[Balderdash]

22. My sisters and I

were either singing Heart or Phoebe and we sounded just like
both ;-) Phoebe gave us so much good music and her unique voice
will be missed. Thank goodness for youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OxTVxGhHFM

[Yavin4]

23. A Great Duet That She Did with Linda Ronstadt on SNL -- The Married Men

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov3OCrNiZ_4&feature=related

An amazing clip.

[nolabear]

64. Exquisite. nt.

[Raschel]

24. All voice, true talent. No gimmicks. Thank you for adding beauty to the world.

[Blue_In_AK]

25. Oh, that's sad.

She had such a unique voice.

[DFW]

27. Poetry Man was a classic

I used to long for it to come around on the radio, bought the album just so I could hear that song over and over again.

[AnneD]

41. At 17....

I guess is the title of the song, was my fav. A thoughtful song for all the ugly duckling girls. I wondered what happened to her. She struck me as the type to go her own path. I figured she got turned off by the shallowness of the music business. I am sure she was a great mom. My sympathies to the family.

[Dulcinea]

47. That was Janis Ian.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypn9oKaO-3E

I always liked that song too, being an ugly duckling teenager.

[AnneD]

66. Thanks for the direction...

Mixed-up my singers. Hazards of old age. Still, those two were seldom played after a brief time and we are so much the poorer.

[cbdo2007]

28. I had never heard of her until recently when Howard Stern was going on and on about her...

so I listed to a bunch of her stuff and she really had a phenomenal voice. RIP

[Remmah2]

29. I loved her voice.

RIP.

[peacefreak]

30. She really had a tough time of it.

Sorry to hear this. Blessings to her family.

[calimary]

31. I remember reading the album notes - and one written to her then-brand-new baby

daughter: "Valerie Rose, welcome to the universe."

Sad. Such a luxurious voice. You could swim in it.

[madrchsod]

32. another voice in the choir....

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. Her version of "At Last" sends chills down my spine every time I hear it

This is incredibly sad news.

[nolabear]

34. This is just specualtion but I wonder if her daughter's death hastened her own.

Sounds as though she really built her life around her daughter, who died a couple of years ago, and Phoebe had a stroke not long thereafter. In any case, I'm glad we have what we have and that she lives on in some remarkable music.

[Lovette]

35. Truly a legend. . .

R.I.P Phoebe Snow!

[frazzled]

36. I loved her voice, but I am embarrassed to say ...

I truly always thought she was Black. It makes total sense now, that she was a Jewess with a Jewfro, but I lived under the illusion that she was African American until I read the Times obituary today.

[latebloomer]

38. She went to my high school

and, yes, she was Jewish- her birth name was Phoebe Laub.

She was a good friend of a friend of mine, and I hung out with her once or twice. She was very funny and warm but basically shy- everyone wanted her to do a song but it took a good deal of wine before she could be persuaded.

Seems like her personal life was sad and hard. She was a phenomenal talent but life took so much out of her.

[FailureToCommunicate]

72. Sorry for the loss of your classmate. Sorry for all of us losing such

a beautiful human of love, caring, and one hell of a talent.

[SemperEadem]

37. she is one of my singing idols

when I was doing vocal training, the songs on her album "Something Real" were what I used to to train with. I can't listen to her now without crying. Got to see her perform live in LA about 10 years ago and she was exquisite. Love love love love her. Man! I'm going to miss her.

[Bluebear]

70. It's an agonizing loss for me too.

A voice of my youth.

[BlueJazz]

39. Phoebe Snow was one of those people that make you want to say:

"If everybody was as caring as her, the world would be a wonderful place"

[wisteria]

61. +1 n/t

[totodeinhere]

40. Her version of "There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York"

is a real classic. It's original release on vinyl had a tremendous amount of dynamic range and was routinely played in stereo shops to show off their top of the line stereo speakers.

Phoebe will be missed.

[colorado_ufo]

42. Beautiful woman, beautiful voice.

Part of the past of a whole generation. God bless both her and her daughter, and may she rest in peace.

[Keith Bee]

44. To be honest, I don't remember her. Or the song.

Sorry. :blush:

[nolabear]

49. Well, it's an easy lookup. You might enjoy her. She's special.

[DeSwiss]

45. R.I.P. - K&R - n/t

[progressoid]

46. Damn.

[pinto]

48. Check this out - Phoebe & Linda Ronstadt - 'It's in his kiss'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDk_lroqZkY&NR=1

[Zorra]

52. The shoop shoop song! Sweet...as good as the Shirelles. nt

[Bluebear]

50. OMG in shock...

[gauguin57]

51. I had so much respect for her ... putting her child's special needs first and her career second.

So much heartbreak in her life ... but what a talent; what a voice!

[DesertRat]

56. Thank you for the music, Phoebe

Rest in peace. O8)

[thanks_imjustlurking]

57. Teach Me Tonight

http://youtu.be/ezW52ybZnTo

I could have done without the stuffed-frog porn, but it was the only version I could find....

And it cuts off before the end! Oh, get the album or the mp3 if you don't have it!
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=phoebe+snow+teach+me+tonight&x=0&y=0
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=phoebe+snow+teach+me+tonight&x=9&y=19

RIP, I will miss you.

[otohara]

58. Loved Her - Goddess

RIP Phoebe Snow O8)

[pacalo]

59. I loved her voice. This is so sad.

[RoccoR5955]

60. RIP Phoebe. n/t

[Melissa G]

63. Very Sad. Wonderful voice. Rest in peace.

Icons of my youth passing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h0KW6DaXgk&feature=related
You send me.

[mackerel]

67. Like others who posted here, all these years I thought she

was black. She was a good Mom.

[6000eliot]

68. If you want sublime, listen to her hit those high notes

at the end of "Gone At Last" by Paul Simon. RIP, sweet Phoebe.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

69. What a range!

Reminds me of Yma Sumac.

Wonderful memories and tributes on this thread.

K&R

[customerserviceguy]

71. I remember her songs pouring out of the dorm rooms

A few of my fellow students had her album, which was played as a counterbalance to all of the hard rock that we also loved in those days. RIP, Ms. Snow.

[TuxedoKat]

74. I heard a radio interview

with her about a year ago or so, I think on AR. I had no idea she had such a hard life. She gave up her career for quite a few years to take care of her daughter who was ill and or disabled. RIP, lovely Phoebe.