Floyd Sneed
Floyd Chester Sneed (born November 22, 1942) is a drummer, best known for his work with the band Three Dog Night.
Sneed grew up in a musical family (his parents were both musicians at their church), and he became interested in drums at an early age. His first drum kit was a gift from his older sister Maxine, who at the time was married to the musician-actor Tommy Chong, and Floyd soon began performing in the Vancouver area as part of Chong's band, Little Daddy and the Bachelors.
In 1966 Sneed formed his own band and moved to Los Angeles, California. In 1968 he met a trio of vocalists (Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells) who had a contract with Dunhill Records and were looking for backing musicians. Sneed joined their new band, Three Dog Night, which became a huge commercial success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sneed sang backup on only one song with the band, he did the deep vocal on "Joy to the World" singing the lyric "I wanna tell you." After Three Dog Night broke up in 1977, Sneed continued to work with other groups, including an extended tour with The Ohio Players. He and other backing musicians from Three Dog Night also worked together in a short-lived group named SS Fools. He reappeared briefly with the reincarnated Three Dog Night in the mid-1980s. In 1990, Sneed had a minor role playing a drummer in a Chong film, Far Out Man. In 2002, Sneed toured and recorded with the band, K.A.T.T., and has formed his own band called Same Dog New Tricks.
Sneed and original Three Dog Night bassist Joe Schermie appeared on the cooking show Food Rules in 2000. This was Schermie's last television appearance.
References
- Bruce Jeansonne, "Featured Drummer" article in Vintage Drummer, vol 1 issue 4, fall 2001 Floyd Sneed Featured drummer in Vintage drummer magazine
