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This article is about the Louisiana blues musician. You may be looking for a similarly named 2019 box set. |
Alvin Snow (also known by his stage name Dyin' Dog) was a Louisiana blues singer and songwriter who briefly worked with guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Roland Sheehan in 1975, recording demos together in the short-lived band Dyin' Dog and the Mongrels.
Much of Snow's life is shrouded in mystery; he disappeared without a trace in January 1976 following a series of personal tragedies which occurred in short succession. Despite releasing a promotional single in 1975, his music lingered in obscurity for decades after his last sighting.
Sheehan rediscovered the demos around 2016 and showed them to The Residents shortly thereafter. The demos inspired the group to record their 2020 album, Metal, Meat & Bone, which featured covers of the Dyin' Dog songs and six newly written songs by The Residents, inspired by Snow.
The original demos were released on Psychofon Records in September 2019 as the limited edition box set, 'The Residents Present Alvin Snow, aka Dyin' Dog.' In July 2020, all demos were reissued as bonus tracks on The Residents' Metal, Meat & Bone.
Biography[]
Alvin Snow was born on Friday, January 13th, of an unknown year (1939, according to Roland Sheehan, although he was unsure if it was that or the year before). An albino Black man with pale blue eyes, Snow was of mixed race heritage, a white mother and Black father. His life at home was not happy, and left at an early age, ending up at an orphanage.
By 1974, Snow was living with a wealthy older woman known as Miss Lillian and her dog Chester, who had crippled back legs and walked with the aid of a cart made by Snow. According to Sheehan, Lillian had lost her only son in World War II and viewed Snow as a surrogate. Snow lived independently on a monthly allowance, and through his habit of charming older ladies, despite this, Sheehan felt that Snow genuinely cared for Miss Lillian.
Snow was discovered by Roland Sheehan, who initially mistook him for Johnny Winter, in a little park in Ruston, Louisiana. Sheehan, who had collaborated with the group that would later become The Residents, was then playing keyboards for The Alliance and first saw Snow walking down the street, singing a self-written song at the top of his voice in a near-howl.
Sheehan stopped him and, despite finding him shy, managed to draw Snow out with the subject of blues music, particularly that of Howlin' Wolf. Soon, the two decided to form a group. Sheehan pulled together a band, Dyin' Dog and the Mongrels, practicing at the Gem Theater in Dubach. Sheehan showed a rough demo tape to Stan Lewis, a well-known local record store and label owner who invited the group to record approximately thirteen tracks at Little Studios in Shreveport in 1975. At least one promo single, "Bury My Bone," b/w "River Runs Dry," on the Jewel Records imprint, resulted from these sessions.
In January 1976, Dyin' Dog and the Mongrels were due to perform a showcase (on the 13th - Snow's birthday); however, in the weeks before, Snow experienced several tragic events. Beginning with the death of his beloved dog Chester, followed by Miss Lillian on the 10th of January, and then Howlin' Wolf on the same day. Snow promptly disappeared before the performance and was never heard from by Sheehan or any other known person again.
Rediscovery and release of demos[]
In 2016, Roland Sheehan discovered a box in the now-abandoned Gem Theater in Dubach, which contained the last known belongings of Alvin Snow. The box contained the Dyin' Dog and the Mongrels demo tapes and a series of Polaroid photos taken by Snow.
Sheehan had recently come back into contact with The Residents by this time and showed the demos to the group. The Residents had long considered making a blues album of some sort but had never been able to develop a concept to support the idea. The demos ultimately inspired them to record an album in tribute to Snow entitled Metal, Meat & Bone.
In July 2019, a YouTube user named Charles Burnett posted a recording of the A-side of the Dyin' Dog and the Mongrels promo single, "Bury My Bone," on YouTube. The original Dyin' Dog and the Mongrels demo recordings were finally released in September 2019 on Psychofon Records as a limited edition set of five 7" records entitled The Residents Present Alvin Snow, aka Dyin' Dog.
In the lead-up to the release of Metal, Meat & Bone, The Residents released two singles, "Die! Die! Die!" (featuring guest vocalist Black Francis), and "Bury My Bone." The vinyl edition of "Die! Die! Die!" featured the original Dyin' Dog demo of the song as the A-side.
After some delays, The Residents' Metal, Meat & Bone was released in July of 2020 on Cherry Red/MVD. A tour planned by the group entitled Dog Stab! was due to begin in April 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour was expected to feature Metal Meat & Bone songs alongside tracks from The Residents' 1978 release Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen. Dates of this tour have since been re-billed as Faceless Forever: The 50th Anniversary Dog Stab Tour.
In September of 2021, The Residents performed a trio of 'Dog Stab' shows, the first set of these shows was dedicated to 'Metal, Meat and Bone,' and featured pre-recorded monologues from the perspective of Dyin' Dog, offering insight into his mindset.
Discography[]
- "Bury My Bone" b/w "River Runs Dry" (1975, promo single)
- The Residents Present Alvin Snow, aka Dyin' Dog 5x7" box set (2019)
- "Die! Die! Die!" (with The Residents) (2020)
- Metal, Meat & Bone - The Songs of Dyin' Dog (with The Residents) (2020)