It was at
The Bitter End club in 1972 that
Denny Cordell, co-owner (with
Leon Russell) of
Shelter Records, was so taken by the singer that he signed her to the label and produced her first recording, recording at
The Church Studio. She released the
eponymous album,
Phoebe Snow, including "
San Francisco Bay Blues" and "
Poetry Man", in 1974, featuring guest performances by
The Persuasions,
Zoot Sims,
Teddy Wilson,
David Bromberg, and
Dave Mason. The album spawned a top five 1975 single on the
Billboard Hot 100 with "Poetry Man" and was itself a top-five album in
Billboard, for which she received a nomination for the
Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The cover of
Rolling Stone magazine followed, while she performed as the opening act for tours by
Jackson Browne and Paul Simon. (She provided credited guest vocals backing Simon on the gospel-tinged hit single "Gone at Last" later in 1975—#23 on the Hot 100.) The same year, 1975, also brought the first of several appearances as a musical guest on
Saturday Night Live, on which Snow performed both solo and in duets with Simon and
Linda Ronstadt. During the 1975 appearance, she was seven months pregnant with her daughter, Valerie. Her backup vocal is heard on Simon's hit song "
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," along with
Valerie Simpson and
Patti Austin, from 1975. Both "Gone at Last" and "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" appear on Simon's Grammy-winning 1975 album
Still Crazy After All These Years. Legal battles took place between Snow and Shelter Records. Snow ended up signed to
Columbia Records. Her second album,
Second Childhood, appeared in 1976, produced by
Phil Ramone. It was jazzier and more introspective, and was a
RIAA Certified Gold Album for Snow, with the Gold Album awarded on July 9, 1976. She moved to a more rock-oriented sound for
It Looks Like Snow, released later in 1976 with
David Rubinson producing. 1977 saw
Never Letting Go, again with Ramone, while 1978's
Against the Grain was helmed by
Barry Beckett. After that, Snow parted ways with Columbia; she would later say that the stress of her parental obligations compromised her ability to make music effectively. In 1979, she toured extensively throughout the US and Canada with noted guitarist
Arlen Roth as her lead guitarist and musical director. Her January 1979 cover of the
Paul McCartney song "
Every Night" reached No. 37 in the
UK. In 1981, Snow, then signed with
Mirage Records, released the album
Rock Away, but the album disappointed music critic Geoffrey Himes. The 1983
Rolling Stone Record Guide summed up Snow's career to that point by saying: "One of the most gifted voices of her generation, Phoebe Snow can do just about anything stylistically as well as technically. … The question that's still unanswered is how best to channel such talent." Snow spent long periods away from recording, often singing commercial
jingles for
AT&T,
General Foods International Coffees,
Salon Selectives,
Stouffer's,
Hampton Bay Ceiling Fans, and others to support herself and her daughter. Snow recorded the theme song for the first season of the TV series
9 to 5. (Dolly Parton's vocals were used for the rest of the show's run.) Snow also sang the theme song for
NBC's
A Different World during the show's first season (1987–88). In 1988, a duet with
Dave Mason, called "Dreams I Dream," reached No. 11 on the US adult contemporary charts. Snow returned to recording with
Something Real in 1989 and gathered a few more hits on the Adult Contemporary charts. Also, Snow composed WDIV-TV (Detroit)'s "Go 4 It!" campaign in 1980. She sang "Ancient Places, Sacred Lands", composed by Steve Horelick, on
Reading Rainbow's tenth episode,
The Gift of the Sacred Dog. The episode was based on the book of the same name by
Paul Goble and was narrated by actor
Michael Ansara. It was shot in
Crow Agency, Montana, in 1983. Snow performed in 1989 on stage at
Avery Fisher Hall in New York City, as part of
Our Common Future: a five-hour live television broadcast originating from several countries. Also that year, Snow sang the
jingle for "Colon Blow", a breakfast cereal commercial parody featured on
Saturday Night Live. In 1990, she contributed a cover version of the
Delaney & Bonnie song "Get Ourselves Together" to the Elektra compilation
Rubáiyát, which included
Earth Wind & Fire guitarist
Dick Smith. In 1992, she toured with
Donald Fagen's
New York Rock and Soul Revue and was featured on the group's album recorded live at the
Beacon Theatre in New York City. Throughout the 1990s, she made numerous appearances on the
Howard Stern radio show. She sang live for specials and birthday shows. In 1997, she sang the
Roseanne theme song
a cappella during the closing moments of the final episode. In 1995, Snow participated in
The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True at the Lincoln Center in New York City, singing a distinctive medley of "If I Only Had a Brain; a Heart; the Nerve". In addition, the concert featured performances by
Jewel,
Joel Grey,
Roger Daltrey, and
Jackson Browne, among others. An album of the concert was released on compact disc on
Rhino Records as catalog number R2 72405. Snow joined with the pop group
Zap Mama, who recorded its own version of Snow's "Poetry Man" in an impromptu duet on the PBS series
Sessions at West 54th. Hawaiian girl group
Na Leo Pilimehana also had a hit on the
Adult Contemporary chart in 1999 with its cover version of "Poetry Man". In May 1998, Snow received the Cultural Achievement Award from
New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Snow performed for US President
Bill Clinton,
First Lady Hillary Clinton, and
his cabinet at
Camp David in 1999. In 2003, Snow released her album
Natural Wonder on
Eagle Records, containing 10 original tracks, her first original material in 14 years. Snow performed at
Howard Stern's wedding in 2008, and made a special appearance in the film ''
Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom as herself. Some of her music was also featured on the soundtrack of the film. Her Live'' album (2008) featured many of her hits as well as a
cover of "
Piece of My Heart". ==Personal life and death==