Tom Snow

Tom Snow is one of the most respected and recorded songwriters of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. His work can be found in virtually every genre. Artists as diverse as Barbra Streisand, Little Feat, Selena and Ray Charles have performed his songs.

Tom was born in 1947, in Princeton, NJ. In 1965 he entered the Berklee College of Music in Boston with the hope of becoming a jazz pianist. Four years later he had earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Composition, graduating second in his class. Putting aside his jazz pianist dream he set out to pursue a career in songwriting .

Migrating to California in the summer of ’69, Tom found a job at Viscount Records in Santa Monica. Together with fellow employee Michael Fondiler he wrote and performed songs in the area’s folk music clubs and small restaurants. The two were discovered by Michael O’Bryant and not long after signed to an album deal with an Atlantic Records subsidiary, Clean Records. A year later the LP “Country” was released.

In 1975 Tom signed with Capitol Records as a solo act and produced two albums: “Taking It All In Stride” and “Tom Snow”.

In 1978 he changed his focus from his recording career to writing hits for others. His first BMI airplay award came in 1978 with the recording (by Rita Coolidge) of “You”, a tune he had written for his first album at Capitol. Rita’s version hit the top thirty and Tom’s writing career was up and running.

Working with the cream of Hollywood’s “in-house” songwriting talent and collaborating with a wide variety of artists, he spent the next 25 years building an extensive and eclectic catalogue. Able to adapt to any musical genre while honing his craft as a “tunesmith” he developed the much sought after commercial touch. He also composed for Film and TV and was the composer for the Broadway Musical “Footloose”.

In 1982 Tom departed briefly from his writing career to make one last solo album, “Hungry Nights”, for Clive Davis’s Arista Records.

He has won and/or been nominated for numerous awards including the Oscar, the Grammy, the Emmy and the Tony. Among his many achievements are 15 BMI “Millionaires” awards for songs receiving a million or more plays on radio. In 1986 Tom won the prestigious Robert J. Burton Award for BMI’s Most Performed Country Song of the Year, Dolly Parton’s “Don’t Call It Love” .

In 2000 Tom was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Berklee.

Tom currently resides in Montecito, CA with his wife Mary Belle and their two Havanese terriers, Rocket & Boom Boom.

He is represented by Karen Schauben Music Publishing Administration. Tel: 770-641-0098.
Email: kschauben@bellsouth.net.