Post by Rob Durkee on Apr 26, 2011 19:43:32 GMT -5
By ROCKIN' ROBIN
Phoebe Snow, who was best known for the 1975 Top 5 hit "Poetry Man" but who gained immeasurable satisfaction from carrying for her ailing daughter, died Tuesday (April 26, 2011) in Edison, New Jersey. According to Keith Thursby of the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press and Rick Miramontez, she had suffered from a brain hemorrhage in January, 2010. Miramontez was Snow's public relations representative as well as a life-long friend.
Sources differ as to Snow's age. Many credit her being born Phoebe Laub on July 17, 1952 in New York City. However, Thursby wrote that her date of birth was actually July 17, 1950, which would make her age 60. CBS News reported her age to be 60. too. She came up with her professional name in memory of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad freight trains she'd see as a child. On some of those freight train cars was a "Phoebe Snow" advertising symbol, a woman dressed in white clothing to help promote the railroad's clean-burning coal.
Snow gained instant success with her self-titled 1974 LP that included "Poetry Man," which reached #5 in the spring of 1975. Snow wrote the song by herself. But who was the Poetry Man? According to Casey Kasem during the American Top 40 show that aired September 13, 1980, it was Jackson Browne. Snow would later deny it. "No, No," she insisted, "It was somebody you wouldn't know. People thought the Poetry Man was Jackson Browne because he was the first person I toured with."
"Poetry Man" led to Snow making the cover of Rolling Stone, appearing on "Saturday Night Live" and earning a nomination for the 1974 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Marvin Hamlisch, however, won for Best New Artist in 1974.
Snow only had one other Top 40 hit. "Gone At Last," a duet with Paul Simon and with background help from the Jessy Dixon Singers, reached #20 in the fall of 1975. That was the year Snow's daughter, Valerie Rose Laub, was born. At that point, Phoebe Snow made motherhood her #1 priority over singing to take care of Valerie Rose, who was born with hydrocephalus. That's an ailment where there's considerable fluid in the brain cavity that hinders brain development. Valerie Rose wasn't expected to live more a few years. Instead, she lived to be 31 when she sadly died in 2007. In 2008, the next year, Snow looked back on caring for her daughter, telling the San Francisco Chronicle, "She was the only thing holding me together. My life was her, completely about her, from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed at night."
Still, Snow had her share of post-"Poetry Man" successes. She had a gold LP in 1976 with "Second Childhood" plus comeback albums in 1981 ("Rock Away") and 1989 ("Something Real"). A best-of CD came out in 2001 and in 2003 she released, "Natural Wonder." In 2008, she had a live LP appropriately entitled, "Live." Her voice was heard on the theme from NBC's "A Different World" and a jingle for United Foods International Coffees entitled, "Celebrate The Moments Of Your Life."
Over the years, Snow would tour with Paul Simon, performed at the 1994 Woodstock 25th anniversary concert and toured with the New York Rock And Soul Revue in the early 1990's.
Looking back on her life and career, Snow was philosophical. "Occasionally, I'd put out an album but I didn't like to tour, so I wouldn't get much support from the labels," she said. " But you know what? It really didn't matter to me because I got to stay home more with Valerie. And that time was precious."
Phoebe Snow, who was best known for the 1975 Top 5 hit "Poetry Man" but who gained immeasurable satisfaction from carrying for her ailing daughter, died Tuesday (April 26, 2011) in Edison, New Jersey. According to Keith Thursby of the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press and Rick Miramontez, she had suffered from a brain hemorrhage in January, 2010. Miramontez was Snow's public relations representative as well as a life-long friend.
Sources differ as to Snow's age. Many credit her being born Phoebe Laub on July 17, 1952 in New York City. However, Thursby wrote that her date of birth was actually July 17, 1950, which would make her age 60. CBS News reported her age to be 60. too. She came up with her professional name in memory of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad freight trains she'd see as a child. On some of those freight train cars was a "Phoebe Snow" advertising symbol, a woman dressed in white clothing to help promote the railroad's clean-burning coal.
Snow gained instant success with her self-titled 1974 LP that included "Poetry Man," which reached #5 in the spring of 1975. Snow wrote the song by herself. But who was the Poetry Man? According to Casey Kasem during the American Top 40 show that aired September 13, 1980, it was Jackson Browne. Snow would later deny it. "No, No," she insisted, "It was somebody you wouldn't know. People thought the Poetry Man was Jackson Browne because he was the first person I toured with."
"Poetry Man" led to Snow making the cover of Rolling Stone, appearing on "Saturday Night Live" and earning a nomination for the 1974 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Marvin Hamlisch, however, won for Best New Artist in 1974.
Snow only had one other Top 40 hit. "Gone At Last," a duet with Paul Simon and with background help from the Jessy Dixon Singers, reached #20 in the fall of 1975. That was the year Snow's daughter, Valerie Rose Laub, was born. At that point, Phoebe Snow made motherhood her #1 priority over singing to take care of Valerie Rose, who was born with hydrocephalus. That's an ailment where there's considerable fluid in the brain cavity that hinders brain development. Valerie Rose wasn't expected to live more a few years. Instead, she lived to be 31 when she sadly died in 2007. In 2008, the next year, Snow looked back on caring for her daughter, telling the San Francisco Chronicle, "She was the only thing holding me together. My life was her, completely about her, from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed at night."
Still, Snow had her share of post-"Poetry Man" successes. She had a gold LP in 1976 with "Second Childhood" plus comeback albums in 1981 ("Rock Away") and 1989 ("Something Real"). A best-of CD came out in 2001 and in 2003 she released, "Natural Wonder." In 2008, she had a live LP appropriately entitled, "Live." Her voice was heard on the theme from NBC's "A Different World" and a jingle for United Foods International Coffees entitled, "Celebrate The Moments Of Your Life."
Over the years, Snow would tour with Paul Simon, performed at the 1994 Woodstock 25th anniversary concert and toured with the New York Rock And Soul Revue in the early 1990's.
Looking back on her life and career, Snow was philosophical. "Occasionally, I'd put out an album but I didn't like to tour, so I wouldn't get much support from the labels," she said. " But you know what? It really didn't matter to me because I got to stay home more with Valerie. And that time was precious."
