Throughout his career Philip Lithman pursued a divided path, attempting to escape obscurity and reach mainstream acclaim before settling into a valued role as sideman for the decade’s most enigmatic pop ensemble, the Residents. His dramatic, angled fretboard runs traced their lineage to the British blues movement and art-rock experimentation, drawing particular influence from Robert Fripp and Fred Frith—the latter also contributing guitar to Residents sessions—and earned Lithman the enduring nickname “Snakefinger.” Ultimately he died suddenly of a heart attack while caught between worlds: too unconventional for the Residents’ circle yet insufficiently conventional for chart success or widespread critical notice.
Born in London, England, in 1949, Lithman came of age amid the psychedelic era yet absorbed the darker undercurrents already surfacing in its final years. At twenty-two he arrived in San Francisco and encountered the eccentric art-terrorist collective that would evolve into the Residents. He joined them for their two earliest live performances and for a chaotic radio broadcast in which he played screeching, free-jazz violin, an approach that audiences embraced. The following year, however, Lithman returned to England and recorded two albums with Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers alongside his friend Martin Stone; two bandmates, Nick Lowe and Pete Thomas, would later achieve prominence in Elvis Costello’s circle. After that group dissolved, Lithman moved back to the United States, settling in Los Angeles where he spent two years circulating demos in hopes of entering the soft-rock mainstream alongside acts such as the Eagles and Jackson Browne. Warner Bros. and RCA both turned him down.
In 1978 he returned to San Francisco and, while again shopping a demo, reconnected with his former associates the Residents. The former college pranksters had matured into a cult band with their own label and were now seeking additional artists for their roster; Snakefinger had come home. Over the next two years the Residents co-wrote and produced two Snakefinger albums—Chewing Hides the Sound and Greener Postures—plus the single “The Spot,” and featured him on Duck Stab and The Commercial Album. He also delivered an indelible, ear-searing solo on their version of “Satisfaction,” a passage that must be heard to be fully appreciated. Although the solo records earned critical praise—Chewing received a “classic” designation in the 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide—they often seemed more reflective of the Residents’ sensibility than of Lithman’s own: the skewed pop of Duck Stab, its singsong lyrics, and its unsettling yet compelling imagery. When opportunity allowed, his British rock roots surfaced; in 1983 he toured performing blues covers.
In the early eighties, while the Residents concentrated on touring, Lithman formed the Vestal Virgins with musicians from Pere Ubu and various Bay Area groups and recorded his third album, Manual of Errors. The project marked a breakthrough: with only minimal Residents involvement he could finally operate as an independent artist. Between 1985 and 1986 he rejoined the Residents for a worldwide tour documented on at least three releases under the title 13th Anniversary Tour. The recordings showcase Snakefinger’s distinctive touch—delicate slide passages alongside fierce, distortion-heavy lines, often within the same piece. That same period saw the release of his most fully realized work to date, Night of Desireable Objects, recorded with the Vestal Virgins. The eclectic set reflected the range of influences that had shaped his career, from Nino Rota and Miles Davis to folk and art-pop. The Virgins embarked on a supporting tour.
On July 1, 1987, after a concert in Linz, Austria, Lithman suffered a fatal heart attack. The Residents, who had planned to feature him on their forthcoming God in Three Persons album, composed music for his funeral, later issued as Snakey Wake. Since 1987 they have sustained his legacy through reissues of his Ralph Records catalog, including a collection of B-sides.
