42-486: Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub ; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs " Poetry Man " and "Harpo's Blues", and her credited guest vocals backing Paul Simon on " Gone at Last ". She was described by The New York Times as a " contralto grounded in a bluesy growl and capable of sweeping over four octaves ". Snow also sang numerous commercial jingles for many U.S. products during
84-400: A cover version of "Poetry Man" that was included on her Grammy-nominated album Trav'lin' Light . In 2008, saxophonist Jessy J recorded an instrumental of "Poetry Man" on her album Tequila Moon . in 2014, Canadian vocalist Jaclyn Guillou recorded "Poetry Man" on her contemporary jazz album, "Winter for Beginners". 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover " 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover "
126-779: A 1989 interview Snow would state: "I could [perform 'Poetry Man'] under anesthesia", while in 1998 she would express misgivings about the song's subject matter: My head was in a particular place when I wrote that [song which] condon[es] extramarital relations, which now I do not at all condone. I was a silly kid back then who had no idea what was going on and I had sex with a married man. How can I stand up there ... now and sing what purports to be this little romantic ditty about sleeping with somebody else's husband? That makes me crazy. I'm glad I'm saying this publicly because I don't like to preach during my shows. I just like to entertain ... Now I sound like an old fart. But I just think extramarital affairs bring sorrow & bad karma ... It's just really
168-435: A bad idea. Whatever misgivings or ennui Snow might have come to experience in performing "Poetry Man", the song would continue to be cited as a highlight of her concerts: Kathy Haight of The Charlotte Observer reviewing Snow's 1986 Spirit Square gig would opine that "the soaring [rendition] of 'Poetry Man' ... sounded every bit as fresh and full of feeling as ... when [Snow] first recorded it." Similarly, Jon Matsumoto of
210-467: A decade. This time around, she wants" - quoting the lyrics of "Something Real" - something real - something I don't have to steal. While doing promotion for her sixth album release Rock Away in 1981, Snow would state that going forward her live gigs would largely eschew songs from her previous five albums: (Phoebe Snow quote:) "Mostly I don't relate to those older songs any more [although] I can't brush off [signature song] 'Poetry Man' of course." In
252-748: A few more hits on the Adult Contemporary charts. Also, Snow composed WDIV-TV (Detroit)'s "Go 4 It!" campaign in 1980. She sang "Ancient Places, Sacred Lands", composed by Steve Horelick, on Reading Rainbow ' s tenth episode, The Gift of the Sacred Dog . The episode was based on the book of the same name by Paul Goble and was narrated by actor Michael Ansara . It was shot in Crow Agency, Montana , in 1983. Snow performed in 1989 on stage at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City, as part of Our Common Future :
294-585: A five-hour live television broadcast originating from several countries. Also that year, Snow sang the jingle for "Colon Blow", a breakfast cereal commercial parody featured on Saturday Night Live . In 1990, she contributed a cover version of the Delaney & Bonnie song "Get Ourselves Together" to the Elektra compilation Rubáiyát , which included Earth Wind & Fire guitarist Dick Smith . In 1992, she toured with Donald Fagen 's New York Rock and Soul Revue and
336-500: A more humorous approach to document the event. He recorded the song at A&R Recording on 48th Street in New York City , a small studio "in the heart of Broadway 's theater district, and built the song around percussion—"martial drums" in particular—in order to "avoid clutter". Simon described the song as "just a fluke hit that I slipped into by accident." Steve Gadd recalled that the drumbeat for "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"
378-423: A recording artist, her seventh album: Something Real , not being released until 1989, when it drew critical praise for Snow's "weaving her way through a fusion of jazz, folk and rock" to create "a sound that is distinctly her own." WAPO music critic Joe Brown would describe the title cut of Something Real as "'Poetry Man' revisited ... [The earlier] song's ingenuously adulterous protagonist has wised up in
420-455: A rock & roll singer, and I've always been one.” The last quote was made while Snow was promoting her fifth album: the 1978 release Against the Grain , Snow's purported "entrance into outright rock & roll": however neither that album nor Snow's follow-up: another rock & roll foray entitled Rock Away , would ultimately be satisfying to Snow, who sat out nearly the entire '80s decade as
462-566: A special appearance in the film Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom as herself. Some of her music was also featured on the soundtrack of the film . Her Live album (2008) featured many of her hits as well as a cover of " Piece of My Heart ". Between 1975 and 1978 Snow was married to Phil Kearns (who later came out as gay ). She had a daughter, Valerie Rose, who was born with severe brain damage. Snow resolved not to institutionalize Valerie, and cared for her at home until Valerie died on March 19, 2007, at
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#1732851313040504-513: A student, she carried her prized Martin 000-18 acoustic guitar from club to club in Greenwich Village , playing and singing on amateur nights. Her stage name came from an early 1900s fictional character featured in Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad ads. In painted and later photographic print images, the young woman 'Phoebe Snow' was dressed all in white to emphasize the cleanliness of
546-489: A teenager in thrall to an older, married man. In 1997, Zap Mama, an African-Belgium based group, delivered a rendering on their album, Seven , which included a dialog of sorts with Spearhead's Michael Franti playing the Poetry Man himself. In 1999, "Poetry Man" returned to the Adult Contemporary chart in a cover by Hawaiian female vocal trio Na Leo Pilimehana, which peaked at #24. In 2007, Queen Latifah recorded
588-610: A top five 1975 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Poetry Man" and was itself a top-five album in Billboard , for which she received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist . The cover of Rolling Stone magazine followed, while she performed as the opening act for tours by Jackson Browne and Paul Simon. (She provided credited guest vocals backing Simon on the gospel-tinged hit single "Gone at Last" later in 1975—#23 on
630-476: Is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon . It was the second single from his fourth studio album, Still Crazy After All These Years (1975), released on Columbia Records . Backing vocals on the single were performed by Patti Austin , Valerie Simpson , and Phoebe Snow . The song features a recognizable repeated drum riff performed by drummer Steve Gadd . One of his most popular singles, "50 Ways"
672-448: Is a song by the American singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow . It was written by Snow, produced by Dino Airali, and first appeared on her 1974 self-titled debut album . "Poetry Man" was the second song written by Phoebe Snow - (Phoebe Snow quote:) "The first one [was] so lame I hardly remember it". Snow would have the basic song written in five or ten minutes, and the song in its final form finished in about an hour. Snow would recall that
714-450: Is to pull away and equally easy to snap back with it." Record World said that the song "finds Simon aided by a crack team of session men and the unmistakable vocals of Phoebe Snow ." Entertainment Weekly thought that Simon "reached a conversational, graceful peak on '50 Ways to Leave Your Lover'". Spin was more critical of the song and listed it as one of the "50 Worst Songs By Otherwise Great Artists". Credits adapted from
756-596: The Billboard Hot 100 chart in April 1975 and #4 in the Canadian RPM Magazine charts. The previous month, the song reached #1 on the Billboard easy listening (adult contemporary) chart, where it remained for one week. The success of "Poetry Man" helped Snow achieve a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 1975. Phoebe Snow would state in a 2008 interview that around the time of "Poetry Man"'s composition: "I
798-457: The Los Angeles Times , reviewing Snow's 1998 Orange County club gig, would opine that "Snow sounded like a heavenly dream while interpreting [her] gorgeous [and] best known song," while WaPo critic Pamela Murray Winters after seeing Snow's 2003 Birchmere gig, praised Snow's "nuanced" performance of "Poetry Man" which "hovered between pop-song coziness and erotic danger as she sang as
840-426: The "bunch of hippies" she knew through their mutual participation in talent nights at Greenwich Village venues dismissed her composition as "pedestrian", advising Snow to "stick with the [Delta] blues covers" she typically performed. However "Poetry Man" was among the songs on the demo which Shelter Records scout Dino Airali late in 1972 advised Snow to record to submit to Shelter president Denny Cordell who on
882-554: The 1980s and 1990s, including General Foods International Coffees , Salon Selectives , and Stouffer's . Snow experienced success in Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s with five top 100 albums in that territory. In 1995 she recorded a gospel album with Sisters of Glory . Phoebe Ann Laub was born in New York City in 1950, and raised in a musical household in which Delta blues , Broadway show tunes , Dixieland jazz , classical music , and folk music recordings were played around
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#1732851313040924-808: The Hot 100.) The same year, 1975, also brought the first of several appearances as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live , on which Snow performed both solo and in duets with Simon and Linda Ronstadt . During the 1975 appearance, she was seven months pregnant with her daughter, Valerie. Her backup vocal is heard on Simon's hit song " 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover ," along with Valerie Simpson and Patti Austin , from 1975. Both "Gone at Last" and "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" appear on Simon's Grammy-winning 1975 album Still Crazy After All These Years . Legal battles took place between Snow and Shelter Records. Snow ended up signed to Columbia Records . Her second album, Second Childhood , appeared in 1976, produced by Phil Ramone . It
966-564: The Lincoln Center in New York City, singing a distinctive medley of "If I Only Had a Brain; a Heart; the Nerve". In addition, the concert featured performances by Jewel , Joel Grey , Roger Daltrey , and Jackson Browne , among others. An album of the concert was released on compact disc on Rhino Records as catalog number R2 72405. Snow joined with the pop group Zap Mama , who recorded its own version of Snow's "Poetry Man" in an impromptu duet on
1008-788: The PBS series Sessions at West 54th . Hawaiian girl group Nā Leo Pilimehana also had a hit on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1999 with its cover version of "Poetry Man". In May 1998, Snow received the Cultural Achievement Award from New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani . Snow performed for US President Bill Clinton , First Lady Hillary Clinton , and his cabinet at Camp David in 1999. In 2003, Snow released her album Natural Wonder on Eagle Records , containing 10 original tracks, her first original material in 14 years. Snow performed at Howard Stern 's wedding in 2008, and made
1050-614: The age of 31. Snow's efforts to care for Valerie nearly ended her career. She continued to take voice lessons, and she studied opera informally. Snow resided in Bergen County, New Jersey , and in her later years she embraced Buddhism . Phoebe Snow suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on January 19, 2010, and slipped into a coma, enduring bouts of blood clots , pneumonia and congestive heart failure . She died on April 26, 2011, at age 60 in Edison, New Jersey . Poetry Man " Poetry Man "
1092-606: The album disappointed music critic Geoffrey Himes. The 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide summed up Snow's career to that point by saying: "One of the most gifted voices of her generation, Phoebe Snow can do just about anything stylistically as well as technically. … The question that's still unanswered is how best to channel such talent." Snow spent long periods away from recording, often singing commercial jingles for AT&T , General Foods International Coffees , Salon Selectives , Stouffer's , Hampton Bay Ceiling Fans , and others to support herself and her daughter. Snow recorded
1134-640: The clock. Her father, Merrill Laub, an exterminator by trade, had an encyclopedic knowledge of American film and theater and was also an avid collector and restorer of antiques. Her mother, Lili Laub, was a dance teacher who had performed with the Martha Graham group. She was Jewish. Snow was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey , and graduated from Teaneck High School in 1968. She subsequently attended Shimer College in Mount Carroll, Illinois , but did not graduate. As
1176-408: The final mix. Although the song is called "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", the song only references five unique methods. Contemporary reviews of "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" were positive, with Billboard called it an "excellent song" that has "very clever lyrics" and an "easy to listen to melody." Cash Box said that it is "a clever, commercial song about the elasticity of love, how easy it
1218-641: The line's passenger trains . (Lackawanna's locomotives at the time burned anthracite coal which created less soot than bituminous coal .) It was at The Bitter End club in 1972 that Denny Cordell , co-owner (with Leon Russell ) of Shelter Records , was so taken by the singer that he signed her to the label and produced her first recording, recording at The Church Studio . She released an eponymous album, Phoebe Snow , including " San Francisco Bay Blues " and " Poetry Man ", in 1974, featuring guest performances by The Persuasions , Zoot Sims , Teddy Wilson , David Bromberg , and Dave Mason . The album spawned
1260-504: The liner notes of Still Crazy After All These Years . "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" was Paul Simon's biggest solo hit and broke in the US in late 1975. It entered the US Billboard Hot 100 on December 20, 1975 at number 74 and peaked at number one on February 7, 1976. The song remained at the summit for three weeks and became his only number one on that chart as a solo act. It also topped
1302-570: The other tracks which comprised Snow's debut album were recorded at A & R Recording : Zoot Sims played the saxophone on "Poetry Man", which track was also distinguished by the percussion work of Ralph MacDonald . Completed in December 1973, the Phoebe Snow album was released in June 1974 with "Poetry Man" given single release that December. "Poetry Man" became Snow's first charting hit, rising to #5 on
Phoebe Snow - Misplaced Pages Continue
1344-549: The spring of 1975 although the two had never met previously and "Poetry Man" was already "in the can" by December 1973. Nevertheless on the American Top 40 radio broadcast of September 13, 1980, host Casey Kasem would allege that Snow herself had advised his show that Browne was her Poetry Man. However a 1989 interview posited Snow as "laugh[ing] hysterically at the notion" of a Jackson Browne hook-up being her song's inspiration, Snow being quoted as saying: "People [have] thought it
1386-488: The strength of that demo signed Snow. With Airali's encouragement Snow wrote more original material - seven of the nine songs on her debut album would be self-penned - and - after recording sessions with Snow in Los Angeles and Nashville failed to yield promising results - Airali, Snow would recall, would suggest: "Why don't we do a jazz-flavored [album?] We've tried ... every other way." The final versions of Poetry Man" and
1428-512: The stress of her parental obligations compromised her ability to make music effectively. In 1979, she toured extensively throughout the US and Canada with noted guitarist Arlen Roth as her lead guitarist and musical director. Her January 1979 cover of the Paul McCartney song " Every Night " reached No. 37 in the UK . In 1981, Snow, then signed with Mirage Records , released the album Rock Away , but
1470-467: The theme song for the first season of the TV series 9 to 5 . (Dolly Parton's vocals were used for the rest of the show's run.) Snow also sang the theme song for NBC 's A Different World during the show's first season (1987–88). In 1988, a duet with Dave Mason , called "Dreams I Dream," reached No. 11 on the US adult contemporary charts. Snow returned to recording with Something Real in 1989 and gathered
1512-404: Was about Jackson because I [opened his] shows ... I can't tell you who 'Poetry Man' was about, [except that] it was nobody famous." Snow would in later years recall that although her completed debut album would indeed be "dubbed a jazz album" with its hit single "Poetry Man" overtly "light, ethereal and jazzy", (Phoebe Snow quotes:) "I never intended to be a [career] jazz artist:" "Back when I
1554-693: Was featured on the group's album recorded live at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Throughout the 1990s, she made numerous appearances on the Howard Stern radio show. She sang live for specials and birthday shows. In 1997, she sang the Roseanne theme song a cappella during the closing moments of the final episode. In 1995, Snow participated in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True at
1596-426: Was having a relationship with somebody. From the [lyrics]" - Home's that place you go each day to see your wife - "you can probably deduce that the guy was married. It was a bad thing to do. [And] it turn[ed] out he was not a particularly great guy" ... "But I got a lovely romantic sonnet out of it." Rumors arose that Snow wrote "Poetry Man" about singer/songwriter Jackson Browne who she toured with as opening act in
1638-490: Was jazzier and more introspective, and was a RIAA Certified Gold Album for Snow, with the Gold Album awarded on July 9, 1976. She moved to a more rock-oriented sound for It Looks Like Snow , released later in 1976 with David Rubinson producing. 1977 saw Never Letting Go , again with Ramone, while 1978's Against the Grain was helmed by Barry Beckett . After that, Snow parted ways with Columbia; she would later say that
1680-411: Was originally uniform across the verses and choruses, although both Simon and Phil Ramone asked Gadd to rework the verses with a different groove at A&R Recording . In-between takes, Gadd was quietly practicing drum patterns by placing particular emphasis on the hi-hat cymbal. Ramone overheard Gadd practicing and asked him to incorporate these ideas into the verses, which was ultimately retained in
1722-664: Was really starting to play guitar and sing, I listened to the Rolling Stones mostly, and Led Zeppelin and Cream . Sly and the Family Stone were my idols," "I was never happy performing [jazz music]. I always felt ... overly concerned about being [technically] perfect:" "[Recording my] second, third [and] fourth album, ... I really felt like [an ersatz] Ella Fitzegrald ... or Sarah Vaughn[,] imitating ... those [jazz divas] instead of being who I really am": "And now at last I’ve come to terms with ... my [true] musical persona ... And I’m
Phoebe Snow - Misplaced Pages Continue
1764-771: Was released in December 1975 and began to see chart success in the new year. It became Simon's sole number-one hit as a solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and was his highest charting song in France, where it peaked at number two. Elsewhere, the song was a top 20 hit in Canada and New Zealand. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of more than one million copies. Following Simon's divorce from his first wife Peggy Harper, Simon opted to take
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