Died On This Date (April 26, 2011) Phoebe Snow / American Singer-Songwriter
themusicsover Phoebe Snow (Born Phoebe Laub)
July 17, 1952 – April 26, 2011
Phoebe Snow was an American singer-songwriter who is perhaps best remembered for her 1975 hit, “Poetry Man.” Regularly exposed to music while growing up, Snow picked up the guitar at an early age. She was still in her teens when she began playing at amateur nights throughout New York’s storied Greenwich Village folk clubs. It was at one of these venues that Snow was discovered by an executive at Shelter Records who signed her and released her self-titled debut album, Phoebe Snow in July of 1974. The album included her Top 5 hit, “Poetry Man.” The album ultimately reached #4 on the Billboard album charts and earned Snow a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, a cover of Rolling Stone, and several memorable appearances on Saturday Night Live. In 1975, Snow gave birth to her severely brain-damaged daughter Valerie, but instead of placing her in a care facility like most, she opted to care for her herself, which she did until Valerie passed away in 2007. Throughout Snow’s career, she released numerous critical and fan favorite albums and performed with a who’s who of pop royalty. That list includes Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel, Queen, and Bonnie Raitt, to name just a few. In 1997, Snow sang the Rosanne theme during the closing moments of the final episode, and years later, became perhaps the most unlikely person in history to sing at both Camp David (for President Bill Clinton), AND at Howard Stern’s wedding. On January 19, 2010, Phoebe Snow suffered a brain hemorrhage and was placed in a medically induced coma. She briefly regained consciousness but ultimately passed away on April 26, 2011. She was 58.
What You Should Own
Poly Styrene was the lead singer and songwriter for the great British punk band, X-Ray Spex. Formed in 1976, the band, despite the fact that they initially released just five singles and one long-player, became one of the most important groups of the original punk movement. After running away from home at 15, Styrene bounced from one music festival to another until she eventually ended up at an early Sex Pistols gig which inspired her to form a punk band. The band’s first album Germ Free Adolescents is by most accounts one of the greatest punk – if not rock – albums ever made. Its “Oh Bondage, Up Yours” is widely recognized as a flash point for punk rock. After the band broke up in 1979, Styrene released a solo album Translucence which had more of a jazzy sound and reportedly inspired the likes of Everything But The Girl. She continued to release music, both solo and with a reformed version of X-Ray Spex, over the next two decades. She also lent her name and voice to various social causes throughout the years. In February 2011, it was announced that Poly Styrene was suffering from breast cancer. She was 53 years old when she died from the disease on April 25, 2011.
Dutch Tilders was a blues musician born in the Netherlands but who moved to Australia with his family while still in his teens. Tilders was playing the harmonica by the time he landed his first gig at the age of 15, but soon switched to the guitar. He went on to release several albums while performing with the likes of Taj Mahal, John Mayall, 
Hazel Dickens was a popular Appalachian bluegrass and folk singer, songwriter and musician who was revered for her beautiful voice as well as for her socially driven lyrics that tended to touch on feminism and pro-union causes. Born into a poor mining family in West Virginia, Dickens became friends with 
Kent Morrill was the lead singer and keyboardist for Seattle, Washington-area ’60s rock band, the Fabulous Wailers. Having been with the group since inception, Morrill was the only original member still playing with the group in recent years. Formed at the tail end of the ’50s, many consider the Fabulous Wailers THE first garage rock band due to their down-and-dirty mix of saxophone driven R&B and rave-up rock ‘n roll. The band released several albums and 45s throughout the years, but it was their late 50s/early 60s output that is generally included in any respectable first generation garage rock collection. Records like “Tall Cool One,” “Dirty Robber,” and “Out Of Our Tree” received significant airplay during their peak years, but it was their recording (with Rockin’ Robin Roberts) of 