Song:Poetry Man
Album:Live
The 1975 top five pop hit Poetry Man was the biggest hit for the excellent singer songwriter Phoebe Snow. After that, legal problems waylaid her career but she's doing very well in the jazz market. She was born Phoebe Laub July 17, 1952 in New York City and grew up in Teaneck, NJ. Her mom was a dance teacher and knew several folk singers. As a teen, she performed in Greenwich Village folk clubs. Shelter Records executive Denny Cordell saw Phoebe perform at the Bitter End in 1972 and signed her. Her debut album was released in 1975 and Poetry Man reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Though Phoebe thought of herself as a folk singer, Cordell had different ideas and used several jazz musicians on the album including Zoot Sims, Teddy Wilson, Ron Carter, Steve Gadd with background vocals by The Persuasions. She was nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy and it looked like Phoebe was on her way. But legal issues with Shelter sent her to Columbia Records. Her albums on Columbia didn't perform as well commercially and she moved to Mirage Records in 1981. During the 80s, Phoebe wound up doing a lot of jingles. She recorded an album foe Elektra in 1989 but hadn't recorded for several years until Verve released Live in 2008. It was recorded at the Bearsville Theatre in Woodstock, NY and reached #8 on the jazz chart. Maybe you should check it out. So I guess she's a jazz artist now. Phoebe's daughter Valerie was born in 1975 with severe brain injuries and Phoebe took care of her at home until her death in 2007. She's also good friends with Howard Stern and appeared on his show many times and sang at his wedding. Phoebe Snow still sounds great and check out her performance at the Songwriters Circle Of New York June 2009.
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