Todd Snider, who was diagnosed with pneumonia earlier this week, died on Friday at the age of 59. The singer-songwriter, who helped redefine Americana as it is today, was most well-known for projects like East Nashville Skyline. A statement was posted on his
Facebook this morning.Videos by Wide Open Country
"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," it read. The statement went on to credit Snider for his natural gifts as a storyteller, which helped him capture the ears and hearts of many.
"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."
The statement also contains lyrics to Snider's song, "Like A Force of Nature". The song sings about wanting to live a life full of passion and create in the same way. It's a perfect tribute to Snider, who so clearly did that through his music. Some of the lyrics featured are as follows:
"May your hope always outweigh your doubt / Until this old world finally punches you out. May you always play your music / Loud enough to wake up all of your neighbors / Or may you play at least loud enough /To always wake yourself up."
The Impact of Todd Snider's East Nashville Skyline
Todd Snider, originally born in Portland, Oregon, moved to Texas in the 1980s. It was there that he discovered country-folk artist Jerry Jeff Walker. After learning about songwriting from Walker, he moved to Nashville, where his legacy as a pioneer of the alt-country scene began. As the statement shares, Walker wasn't the only artist who inspired much of Snider's music.
"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."
Snider's 2004 album, East Nashville Skyline, which artists like these influenced, would become his most famous project. It seems that Snider, who never took himself too seriously, was only somewhat aware of his impact. The truth is, he probably wasn't quite sure of the number of young singer-songwriters the album would influence.
Snider once joked of the project, "I was as surprised as anyone to hear that East Nashville Skyline had gone on to surpass Garth Brooks' Dark Side of the Moon album to become the number one selling album of all time, in any genre... I am humbled." The album did achieve commercial success, in its time, reaching the No. 28 spot on the Billboard charts.
Snider's sense of humor and gift for storytelling will continue to live on through his songs, and through the songs of those he inspired by reshaping the Americana genre into what it is today.
Photo by: Gary Miller/Getty Images
