Todd Snider, country-folk troubadour with a sharp wit and caring eye, dies at 59

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Todd Snider, a popular singer and songwriter known for his heartfelt and humorous songs about everyday people facing tough times, passed away on Friday at the age of 59.

The news of his death was shared on his Instagram page, but the post didn’t mention how or where he died. Previously, a message from “Todd’s Friends & Family” revealed he was hospitalized in Hendersonville, Tennessee, with pneumonia after having trouble breathing. Before that, he canceled a tour, telling fans he’d been hurt in an attack near a Salt Lake City hotel.

Often drawing comparisons to songwriters like John Prine and Kris Kristofferson – both of whom guided him early in his career – Snider’s songs explored how people struggling with poverty deal with difficult times. As he explained to the New York Times in 2009, his work touched on themes of escapism, including substance use, relationships, and avoidance.

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Over a career spanning three decades, Snider released albums on labels associated with John Prine, Jimmy Buffett, and even his own record company, Aimless Records. However, many fans felt he truly shined in live performances, where he’d weave his songs together with stories about his often challenging life.

He was famous for upbeat songs like “Beer Run,” the philosophical “Can’t Complain” – about accepting life’s ups and downs – and “Alright Guy,” which famously begins with a friend discovering him looking at a book of nude photos of Madonna.

He sings that she told him she never thought he was a bad person, and that she doesn’t want to see him again, a decision he still doesn’t understand.

In his 2014 memoir, Snider recounted a funny story about when Garth Brooks asked him to come to a recording studio. Brooks wanted Snider’s help with a cover of “Alright Guy,” but he asked him pretending to be his invented persona, Chris Gaines.

Snider was completely awestruck when Garth Brooks approached him and introduced himself. Brooks mentioned he’d noticed Snider on the ‘Austin City Limits’ TV show and commented on his red hair. Snider explained he’d actually been trying to dye his hair dark brown to resemble John Fogerty, but the color came out red, making him look more like a character from ‘Dumb and Dumber.’ Although Brooks never officially released the cover Snider had hoped for, he did send Snider a $10,000 check as a gesture of goodwill.

Music

Before his performance at the Hollywood Bowl this Sunday, the 80-year-old musician reflects on the classic songs he wrote and performed with Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Todd Snider was born on October 11, 1966, and spent his childhood in Oregon. He later moved to both Texas and Nashville. He released his first album, “Songs for the Daily Planet,” in 1994 on Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Records. The album ended with a fast-paced, acoustic song called “Talkin’ Seattle Grunge Rock Blues,” where he playfully poked fun at the popular alternative rock scene of the time.

Now, to fit in fast, we wear flannel shirts

We turn our amps up until it hurts

We got bad attitudes, and what’s more

When we play, we stare straight down at the floor

From the start, critics loved Snider, and his 2004 album, “East Nashville Skyline,” received widespread praise. Standout tracks include the lengthy and detailed “Conservative, Christian, Right Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males,” which captures the cultural clashes happening in America after 9/11, and “The Ballad of the Kingsmen,” a song where he playfully explores the meaning behind the famous lyrics of “Louie Louie.”

Besides numerous other albums, Snider released “The Excitement Plan” in 2009, produced by Don Was, and a 2012 tribute to Jerry Jeff Walker, a country-folk artist who greatly inspired him. His latest album, “High, Lonesome and Then Some,” was released in October.

Throughout his life, Snider was candid about his battles with drug use and the ongoing pain caused by spinal stenosis. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, he explained that while he tried many treatments, he also had to accept his condition, which he admitted was difficult. Details about his surviving family members were not yet released.

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2025-11-16 00:31