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Floyd Sneed

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Floyd Sneed
Three Dog Night 1972.JPG
While with Three Dog Night (1971)
Background information
Birth nameFloyd Chester Sneed
Born(1942-11-22)November 22, 1942
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
DiedJanuary 27, 2023(2023-01-27) (aged 80)
GenresRock
OccupationDrummer
Websitewww.floydsneed.net

Floyd Chester Sneed (November 22, 1942 – January 27, 2023) was a Canadian drummer, best known for his work with the band Three Dog Night.

Born on November 22, 1942,[1] in Calgary, Sneed grew up in a musical family (his parents were both musicians at their church) and became interested in drums at an early age. His first drum kit was a gift from his older sister Maxine, who at the time was married to the musician-actor Tommy Chong. He was in a band called the "Calgary Shades" that included his pianist older brother Bernie Sneed (1940–2016). He soon began performing in the Vancouver area as part of Chong's band, Little Daddy and the Bachelors.

In 1966, Sneed formed his own band and moved to Los Angeles, California. In 1968, he met a trio of vocalists (Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells), who had a contract with Dunhill Records and were looking for backing musicians. Sneed joined their new band, Three Dog Night, which became a commercial success in the late 1960s and early to mid 1970s. Sneed sang backup on only one song with the band; he did the deep vocal on "Joy to the World", singing the lyric "I wanna tell you." After Three Dog Night broke up in 1977, he continued to work with other groups, including an extended tour with The Ohio Players. He and other backing musicians from Three Dog Night worked together in a short-lived group named SS Fools. He reappeared briefly with the reincarnated Three Dog Night in the mid-1980s. In 1990, he had a minor role playing a drummer in a Chong film, Far Out Man. In 2002, he toured and recorded with the band K.A.T.T., and also formed his own band called Same Dog New Tricks.

Sneed and original Three Dog Night bassist Joe Schermie appeared on the cooking show Food Rules starring Tom Riehl in 2000. This was Schermie's last television appearance.

K.A.T.T. band members in 1998
The band K.A.T.T. in 1998, Joe Schermie/Bass, Katt Kleiber/Vocals, Floyd Sneed/Drums, Ron Diego Johnston/Guitar

Sneed regularly appeared in concert on percussion and drums with former Three Dog Night lead singer Chuck Negron through the 1990s and 2000s, and is credited on Chuck Negron's Live In Concert released in 2001. [2]

Sneed was descended from the original black settlers to Alberta's Amber Valley, Alberta[3] – their migration to Canada under Clifford Sifton's campaign to entice U.S. farmers to settle in the prairies.

Sneed died on January 27, 2023, at the age of 80.[4]

References

  1. ^ Contemporary Musicians (vol. 5). Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research, Incorporated. 1989. p. 185. ISBN 978-0810322158. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  2. ^ "Chuck Negron Live In Concert on AllMusic". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Brennan, Brian (February 25, 2016). "John Ware wasn't the only black settler in Alberta at the turn of the 20th century". Brian Brennan. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "Three Dog Night Drummer, Floyd Sneed, Dies at 80". bestclassicbands.com. January 29, 2023.
  • Bruce Jeansonne, "Featured Drummer" article in Vintage Drummer, vol 1 issue 4, fall 2001 Floyd Sneed