User:SnoopyHudson

Snoopy Hudson was born Harold Alan Hudson on August 23, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. A musician, a muse and an underground legend, Snoopy had a far-reaching influence on the evolution of American poetry and folk and rock music of the 1960s and 1970s. He was proud to include such greats as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Alan Ginsberg, Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia and Ritchie Blackmore among his friends. In fact, it was Leonard Cohen who gave Snoopy his nickname. As Snoopy tells it, he was particularly fond of the song "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron" by The Royal Guardsmen, released in 1966. Hudson would listen to the record over and over again on his second-hand hi-fi much to the chagrin of his friend and sometimes roommate Leonard Cohen. As a result, Leonard started calling Hudson "Snoopy" and the name stuck.

Snoopy can't remember a time he wasn't in love with music. His favorite childhood memories are of lurking around the streets of Chicago well after his bedtime, working his way from club to pub, hiding in the shadows as he took in the richness of the mid-20th Century Chicago blues scene.

When he wasn't sneaking into Chicago's blues clubs, Snoopy could be found playing one of the guitars at Shane's Pawn shop in Chicago Heights. In 1956, the owner of Shane's surprised Snoopy by giving him his first guitar, a Harmony Acoustic. It was tattered, a bit dented, and worn in the frets, but Snoopy remembers that old guitar fondly. "The neck was a bit bowed, but it still had a real sweet tone." The then 14-year-old budding musician couldn't have been happier.

In 1960, the 18-year-old Snoopy hopped a train to New York City to join the band of black-clad beatniks who were laying down the roots of music's next generation as they collaborated in self-styled beat salons, coffee houses, and dingy bars scattered throughout the center of this new scene, Greenwich Village. It was shortly after he arrived in Manhattan that Snoopy encountered Bob Dylan. Before long, Snoopy found himself taking up residence at the now-famous Chelsea Hotel, where Dylan introduced Snoopy to the era's most promising musicians and poets, including Leonard Cohen and Alan Ginsberg.

Snoopy often traveled with his new companions on gigs and it was during one of these trips that the young musician's influence first began to impact the contemporary music scene. Dylan had been experimenting with a new electric sound, knowing full well that his growing fan base might be put off if he deviated from the folk roots for which he had become known. It was Snoopy who suggested to Dylan that he take the plunge and go full-on electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Pete Seeger, who was reportedly so upset that he threatened to cut Bob Dylan's guitar cord at the festival, blamed Snoopy for Dylan's actions and never spoke to Snoopy again.

Snoopy's influence on the volatile music scene of the '60s didn't end there. In 1968 Snoopy was hanging out and partying with some friends who knew the band Iron Butterfly. He happened to be with Iron Butterfly in the studio the day In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida first came to life. Musical folklore has it that the title of the song was supposed to be "In The Garden of Eden," but lead singer Doug Ingle was so drunk that he slurred the words while drummer Ron Bushy, not understanding what Ingle was saying, wrote down the sounds he heard phonetically, and what he heard was "in a godda davida." Snoopy flat out disputes that version of the story, insisting instead that he was taking the notes and wrote down the misheard lyrics. Snoopy also claims that he was actually jamming with the band during the rehearsal and sound check with engineer Don Casale while they all waited for producer Jim Hilton. Casale had rolled tape during that rehearsal and it was agreed that the performance was of sufficient quality that another take was not needed. Neither Snoopy nor Casale were credited on the album.

As the '70s rolled along, Snoopy began to tire of moving around the country "following the music," as he puts it. The last major mark he remembers leaving on the music scene was in December of 1971 during a rehearsal a few days before the recording of what turned out to be Deep Purple's signature song and smash hit, "Smoke on the Water." Snoopy tells the story like this. "Ritchie (Blackmore) and I were sitting in his private music studio. Ritchie was trying to work out the intro to a new song he and the band were working on.  I suggested to him he try a 4 note G minor blues scale harmonized in parallel fourths. I guess the rest is history."

In the late 70's Snoopy left the music scene for good, moving to Key West to write, read, relax and, as he puts it "soak up the sun and sip down the suds." He lives a laid-back semi-reclusive life, but can still be seen sipping suds with the locals. It's worth a trip to the Conch Republic just on the off-chance you could run into this amazing character. Buy him a brew and maybe he'll share one of his amazing stories with you.