'Poetry Man' singer Phoebe Snow, 60

Phoebe Snow, 60, a bluesy singer, guitarist, and songwriter who had a defining hit of the 1970s with "Poetry Man" but then largely dropped out of the spotlight to care for her disabled daughter, has died.

Ms. Snow, nominated for best new artist at the 1975 Grammys, died Tuesday morning in Edison, N.J., from complications of a brain hemorrhage she suffered in January 2010, said Rick Miramontez, her longtime friend and public relations representative.

Known as a folk guitarist who made forays into jazz and blues, Ms. Snow put her stamp on soul classics such as "Shakey Ground," "Love Makes a Woman," and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" in a recording career of more than a half-dozen albums.

Not long after Ms. Snow's "Poetry Man" reached the Top 5 on the pop singles chart in 1975, her daughter, Valerie Rose, was born with severe brain damage, and Ms. Snow decided to care for her at home rather than place her in an institution. Ms. Snow's husband, musician Phil Kearns, left her while Valerie was still a baby.

Valerie, who was born with hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the brain cavity that inhibits brain development, was not expected to live more than a few years. She died in 2007 at 31.

Ms. Snow was born Phoebe Ann Laub in New York City in 1950 and raised in Teaneck, N.J. She changed her name after seeing Phoebe Snow, an advertising character for a railroad, emblazoned on trains that passed through her hometown. Ms. Snow quit college after two years to perform in amateur nights at Greenwich Village folk clubs.

Her first record, Phoebe Snow, came out in 1974, and showed off her songwriting on a selection of tunes that spanned blues, jazz, and folk. "Poetry Man" took the record to No. 4 on the album charts.

After 1976's gold-selling Second Childhood, Ms. Snow's subsequent albums found smaller audiences. Through the 1980s and into the 1990s, she sang commercial jingles - for companies including Michelob, Hallmark, and AT&T - and performed live here and there.