Todd Snider, a singer-songwriter known for blending music genres folk, country, rock and blues, has died. He was 59.
Snider’s death was announced on his Facebook page as well as on his website via a statement. The news comes after the alternative-country singer was hospitalized and diagnosed with walking pneumonia, according to another Facebook post, which his friends and family shared.
“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,” the statement reads. “Where do we find the words for the one who always had the right words, who knew how to distill everything down to its essence with words and song while delivering the most devastating, hilarious, and impactful turn of phrases? Always creating rhyme and meter that immediately felt like an old friend or a favorite blanket. Someone who could almost always find the humor in this crazy ride on Planet Earth.”
“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. 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,” the statement continued. “How do we move forward without the one who gave us countless 90 minute distractions from our impending doom? 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.”
Born on Oct. 11, 1966, the “Alright Guy” singer moved to Nashville in the 1990s to pursue music. He was discovered by Keith Sykes, which then led to the release of his debut album, Songs for the Daily Planet in 1994. Throughout his career, he was nominated for artist of the year at the Americana Honors & Awards in 2006, launched his own label, Aimless Records, in 2008, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2021.
On Friday, a post was shared on Facebook from Snider’s friends and family, that described his latest health updates. “After Todd returned home to recover last week, he began having trouble breathing and was admitted to the hospital in Hendersonville, TN,” the post reads. “We learned from his doctors that he had been quietly suffering from an undiagnosed case of walking pneumonia.”
Snider was touring his most recent album, High, Lonesome and Then Some, released on Oct. 17, until it was canceled because Snider, “sustained several injuries as the victim of a violent assault outside of his hotel,” according to Aimless, which released this statement via Instagram Nov. 3. It was then revealed that Snider had been arrested for an incident that occurred at Holy Cross Hospital where he was being treated for his injuries and was booked for disorderly conduct, Billboard reported earlier this month.
