Floyd Chester Sneed[1] (November 22, 1942 – January 27, 2023[1]) was a Canadian drummer, best known for his work with the band Three Dog Night.
Early life
Born on November 22, 1942,[2] 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 parents were Napoleon Sneed and Willa (née Carothers) Sneed.[1][3]
At age nine, Floyd nearly drowned while swimming in a lake with his brother and a friend.[3] He had polio as a child, and was hospitalized for months. The disease gave a long-lasting effect in one of his eyes.[3]
His first drum kit was a gift from his older sister Maxine, who at the time was married to the musician-actor Tommy Chong.[4] Sneed was descended from the original black settlers to Alberta's Amber Valley, Alberta[5] – their migration to Canada under Clifford Sifton's campaign to entice U.S. farmers to settle in the prairies.
Career
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 also sang backup on one song with the band; he provided the deep vocal on "Joy to the World", singing the lyric "I wanna tell you." Band member Danny Hutton said that Sneed was a self–taught drummer, and "he didn’t play drums like anyone else".[3]
Tommy Chong says that Cheech & Chong's 1971 Grammy–nominated album "Cheech and Chong" had a track, "Blind Melon Chitlin", that was inspired by Sneed.[3]
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 before his death in 2002. On the show, Sneed cooked his family's fried chicken recipe, handed down to him by his mother.[1]
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.[6]
Personal life
In 1962, Floyd married Sandra "Sandy" Sneed, née Hoiland, (1943–2015[1]) and later had two daughters.[1] One of his daughters, Shannon Rozak (born 1964), died in 2014.[1] He also took up painting and visual art, and some of Sneed's art could be seen in galleries around North America.[7]
After Sneed retired as a musician, he spent his time in the Pacific Northwest, more specifically Washington State, enjoying the sights and sounds with his friends and family.
Death
Sneed died on January 27, 2023, at the age of 80.[8] He suffered from several health issues including diabetes which resulted in renal failure.[3] He was survived by one sibling, three children, and four grandchildren.[3]
