Alt-Country Star Todd Snider Dead at 59

Todd Snider — known for majorly influencing the alt-country and Americana music genres — has died.

His label, Aimless Records, shared the sad news on Facebook Saturday morning after his family revealed Friday he had been hospitalized due to an “undiagnosed case of walking pneumonia.”

Aimless said he passed on Friday and remembered him as “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.”

When they announced his hospitalization Friday, Snider’s family explained he began having trouble breathing and was admitted to a hospital in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and then was “transferred” for “additional treatment” as his situation became “more complicated.”

The musician was born in Oregon, but began his music journey in Texas in the 1980s, where Jerry Jeff Walker mentored him in songwriting. Once he landed in Nashville, he became the face of the city’s alt-country and alternative rock music scene.

His 2004 album “East Nashville Skyline” brought eyes on the alternative spirit of East Nashville and cemented his place as a key figure in the alt-country scene. He founded his own record label, Aimless Records, in 2008.

In addition to being a solo artist, the “Beer Run” hitmaker fronted the group Hard Working Americans, which formed in 2013. He continued making music and touring over the years even as he struggled with substance abuse issues.

He released his “High, Lonesome and Then Some” album this year and was planning on touring, but canceled it less than 2 weeks ago after he allegedly “sustained severe injuries as the victim of a violent assault.”

He was then arrested when he got aggressive with cops following his discharge from a Salt Lake City, Utah hospital.

He was 59.