Lionel White (1948–1998) was an American

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and punk rock musician who recorded music under the name ''Snuky Tate''. He is best remembered for his

novelty single A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of Comedy music, humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on ...

'' He's the Groove'' (1980) about Pope John Paul II.

Biography

Lionel White was born in Wilmington, Delaware, United States in 1948 and studied painting at the University of Delaware. One of his influences was

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

. In the early 1970s he moved to San Francisco where he adapted a comedy character named ''Snuky Tate'', which he performed on stage during punk concerts. In 1979 he was part of the San Francisco art rock band The Alterboys, in which Richard Edson was a member too. The same year White recorded his first musical single, "Who Cares?", and released it on Blackmouth Music under the name Snuky Tate. At the start of the 1980s he moved to New York and recorded his second musical single, " He's the Groove", which was a funky pop single about Pope John Paul II. In 1982 he released the album ''Babylon Under Pressure'' on Christ Stein's Animal Records. Snuky Tate's records were released on ZE Records. He died in 1998. He identified as being homosexual.

References

External links

Discogs article.
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Lionel American novelty song performers American punk rock musicians American funk musicians 1948 births 1998 deaths American comedy musicians American LGBT musicians Musicians from Wilmington, Delaware 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American LGBT people