Biography
The 1960s folk-rock duo Jeff Blackburn and Sherry Snow ranked among the era's most compelling acts that nevertheless failed to secure significant national visibility. Their male-female vocal blend nearly matched the standard set by the early Jefferson Airplane, while Blackburn supplied an abundance of strong original songs that skillfully fused folk, rock, country, and understated psychedelic touches into an appealing yet singularly personal melodic approach. Consistent record releases remained beyond their reach. Only two singles surfaced on Verve with scant distribution, among them the standout "Stranger in a Strange Land," before the pair disbanded in the late 1960s. They had nevertheless laid down enough additional strong unreleased material for an entire album, and this body of work, together with the singles, finally appeared as a CD in 1999.
Sherry Snow took up folk music in California during the early 1960s. Her path crossed those of other aspiring folk performers on the circuit who would soon emerge as folk-rock and psychedelic-rock figures, among them Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane and David Freiberg of Quicksilver Messenger Service. For a period in the mid-1960s she even shared a San Francisco apartment with Kantner and Freiberg. In 1965 she formed both a romantic and professional partnership with guitarist and songwriter Jeff Blackburn; the pair were then signed by Bay Area music figure Frank Werber, manager of the Kingston Trio and the We Five.
Early in 1966 Blackburn & Snow, backed by the We Five rhythm section, cut "Stranger in a Strange Land," a strong track widely believed to have been composed by David Crosby. Although credited to the enigmatic Samuel F. Omar, the attribution gains support from an unreleased instrumental of the same title found on a mid-1960s Byrds bootleg that shares a comparable melody. The recording stood as unusually forward-looking folk-rock for its time, yet it remained unissued for roughly a year owing to unclear circumstances.
During this interval Blackburn & Snow kept recording for Werber's Trident production company, focusing almost entirely on Blackburn originals. Although he had not written "Stranger in a Strange Land," his own pieces shared its distinctive traits of shifting melodies, recurrent haunting minor chords, and evocative, hazy lyrics that captured the free-spirited atmosphere of the nascent San Francisco counterculture. A capable guitarist whose voice carried echoes of the Everly Brothers, Blackburn benefited from the soaring, higher-register support of Snow, who, as noted in Alec Palao's liner notes for the Something Good for Your Head CD, turned down an offer to replace Signe Anderson in Jefferson Airplane during August 1966. Some of the tracks they taped in this period, often with various electric musicians including bassist Harvey Brooks, Country Joe & the Fish drummer Chicken Hirsh, and Los Angeles session guitarist Jerry McGhee, followed the classic folk-rock template of ringing guitars and light rhythm. Others leaned toward country or adopted a spare, nearly or fully acoustic ballad character rooted in the performers' coffeehouse origins, yet distinguished by more inventive melodies and fresher, more personal lyrics than those typical of early-1960s acoustic folk.
Like other Trident acts such as the Mystery Trend and the early Sons of Champlin, Blackburn & Snow issued only a small portion of their recorded output on poorly distributed singles, despite laying down numerous studio tracks. "Stranger in a Strange Land" reached Verve, whose parent MGM maintained a distribution arrangement with Trident, as a single in early 1967. A follow-up single pairing the country-rock-flavored "Time" with "Post-War Baby" appeared in October 1967, though solely in promotional pressings. Plans for a full album slated for spring 1967 collapsed when the Trident/MGM deal unraveled.
Blackburn & Snow parted ways with Frank Werber late in 1967. Their personal relationship soon ended as well, and although they performed together for a short time afterward, they shortly ceased working as a professional unit. Snow went on to sing with Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks before exiting the music industry, while Blackburn stayed active as a musician in Santa Cruz, serving with Moby Grape from October 1973 through May 1975 and performing live with Neil Young in the Ducks during 1977. Blackburn died on January 6, 2023, at the age of 77.
Sherry Snow took up folk music in California during the early 1960s. Her path crossed those of other aspiring folk performers on the circuit who would soon emerge as folk-rock and psychedelic-rock figures, among them Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane and David Freiberg of Quicksilver Messenger Service. For a period in the mid-1960s she even shared a San Francisco apartment with Kantner and Freiberg. In 1965 she formed both a romantic and professional partnership with guitarist and songwriter Jeff Blackburn; the pair were then signed by Bay Area music figure Frank Werber, manager of the Kingston Trio and the We Five.
Early in 1966 Blackburn & Snow, backed by the We Five rhythm section, cut "Stranger in a Strange Land," a strong track widely believed to have been composed by David Crosby. Although credited to the enigmatic Samuel F. Omar, the attribution gains support from an unreleased instrumental of the same title found on a mid-1960s Byrds bootleg that shares a comparable melody. The recording stood as unusually forward-looking folk-rock for its time, yet it remained unissued for roughly a year owing to unclear circumstances.
During this interval Blackburn & Snow kept recording for Werber's Trident production company, focusing almost entirely on Blackburn originals. Although he had not written "Stranger in a Strange Land," his own pieces shared its distinctive traits of shifting melodies, recurrent haunting minor chords, and evocative, hazy lyrics that captured the free-spirited atmosphere of the nascent San Francisco counterculture. A capable guitarist whose voice carried echoes of the Everly Brothers, Blackburn benefited from the soaring, higher-register support of Snow, who, as noted in Alec Palao's liner notes for the Something Good for Your Head CD, turned down an offer to replace Signe Anderson in Jefferson Airplane during August 1966. Some of the tracks they taped in this period, often with various electric musicians including bassist Harvey Brooks, Country Joe & the Fish drummer Chicken Hirsh, and Los Angeles session guitarist Jerry McGhee, followed the classic folk-rock template of ringing guitars and light rhythm. Others leaned toward country or adopted a spare, nearly or fully acoustic ballad character rooted in the performers' coffeehouse origins, yet distinguished by more inventive melodies and fresher, more personal lyrics than those typical of early-1960s acoustic folk.
Like other Trident acts such as the Mystery Trend and the early Sons of Champlin, Blackburn & Snow issued only a small portion of their recorded output on poorly distributed singles, despite laying down numerous studio tracks. "Stranger in a Strange Land" reached Verve, whose parent MGM maintained a distribution arrangement with Trident, as a single in early 1967. A follow-up single pairing the country-rock-flavored "Time" with "Post-War Baby" appeared in October 1967, though solely in promotional pressings. Plans for a full album slated for spring 1967 collapsed when the Trident/MGM deal unraveled.
Blackburn & Snow parted ways with Frank Werber late in 1967. Their personal relationship soon ended as well, and although they performed together for a short time afterward, they shortly ceased working as a professional unit. Snow went on to sing with Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks before exiting the music industry, while Blackburn stayed active as a musician in Santa Cruz, serving with Moby Grape from October 1973 through May 1975 and performing live with Neil Young in the Ducks during 1977. Blackburn died on January 6, 2023, at the age of 77.
Albums