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Todd Snider has died. News arrived yesterday that the Americana singer-songwriter was diagnosed with walking pneumonia, and this morning the musician’s official accounts posted that he has “departed this world.” He was 59.
Earlier this month, Snider canceled his tour in support of his latest album High And Lonesome And Then Some, citing that he was “violently assaulted” outside his hotel and needed medical treatment. Shortly after, it was reported that he was arrested upon leaving the hospital because he did not believe he should be discharged and subsequently cursed out the staff. Yesterday, Snider’s friends and family shared the following statement on his social media:
Hello friends, family, and members of the Shithouse Choir.
We have some difficult news to share. After Todd returned home to recover last week, he began having trouble breathing and was admitted to the hospital in Hendersonville, TN. We learned from his doctors that he had been quietly suffering from an undiagnosed case of walking pneumonia.
Our beloved brother’s condition has become more complicated, and he’s since been transferred for additional treatment. His care team and those closest to him are by his side and doing everything they can.
Right now we’re asking everyone who loves Todd to hold him in your thoughts in whatever way feels right to you. Say a prayer, light a candle, roll one up, send strength, or just keep him close in your heart. You’ve carried him through so much over the years, and he needs that from all of us now more than ever.
We’ll share more when there is more to tell. Thank you for surrounding him with so much love, support, and compassion.
Today, the same accounts shared the news of his passing, writing:
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. 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.
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. Today, put on one of your favorite Todd Snider records and “play it loud enough to wake up all of your neighbors or at least loud enough to always wake yourself up.” We love you Todd, sail on old friend, we’ll see you again out there on the road somewhere down the line. You will always be a force of nature.
“Like A Force of Nature”
If we never get together again
Forgive me for these fools I’ve been
See if you can remember me when
I was listening to my better angelsIt’s like a force of nature
Coming over me
I can’t keep myself from moving
It’s like a force of natureMay 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 upTodd Daniel Snider
10/11/66-11/14/25
Todd Snider was born in Portland, Oregan in 1966. In the ’90s, he moved to Tennessee and released his debut album Songs For The Daily Planet, which came out on Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville label and hit #23 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. He released 16 total albums, blending together folk, blues, rock, alt country, and funk. Despite having deals with majors like Capitol Records and MCA Nashville, he remained a DIY icon throughout his career.