Floyd Sneed dies: Three Dog Night drummer turns 80

Floyd Sneed, the Canadian drummer who started a string of 1970s hits with Three Dog Night and provided backing vocals for one of the band’s biggest hits, died on January 27. He was 80.

His death was announced on the group’s Facebook page. A cause of death was not given.

“Three Dog Night is saddened by the death of Floyd Sneed,” the band said in a statement. “Floyd was an absolutely wonderful person, a complete original and a darling of a man. He was also an extremely unique drummer who contributed so much to the Three Dog Night sound. Floyd broke many barriers, both musically and culturally; With his great technique he also influenced many other drummers. He will be sorely missed by all of us in the band and the many musicians, artists and others he inspired throughout his life. Rest in peace Floyd.”

Born in Calgary, Alberta, Sneed began playing drums at a young age, eventually playing in local bands with friend and then-brother-in-law Tommy Chong. He moved to Los Angeles in 1966 and two years later he joined the singers Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron and Cory Wells in the new group Three Dog Night. He remained with the group until the mid-1970s, during their first and most successful incarnation. He briefly rejoined the group in the early 1980s.

The band’s hits during Sneed’s first tenure include “Easy To Be Hard” and “Eli’s Coming” (both 1969), “An Old Fashioned Love Song” and “Never Been to Spain” (1971), and “Shambala” ( 1973). . In addition to playing drums, Sneed provided backing vocals on the group’s signature song, “Joy To The World,” which was the No. 1 single of 1971, according to Billboard. He was also featured on the group’s other two Hot 100 hits: “Mama Told Me (Not to Come)” in 1970 and “Black & White” in 1972.

Three Dog Night also had 12 consecutive gold albums from 1969 to 1974, all but one of which reached the top 20 on the Billboard 200.

Information on survivors was not immediately available.