Editing Todd Snider (section)

===1990s===
====Margaritaville/MCA years====
Snider's debut album for Margaritaville, ''[[Songs for the Daily Planet]]'', was released in 1994 and reached number 23 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Heatseekers Albums chart.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= February 4, 1995 |title= Heatseekers Albums |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1995/1995-02-04-Billboard-Page-0026.pdf#search=%22todd%20snider%22 |magazine= Billboard |pages= 26 |access-date= July 26, 2011}}</ref> Produced by [[Tony Brown (record producer)|Tony Brown]] and [[Michael Utley|Mike Utley]], the album was literally composed of songs he was playing at the Daily Planet nightclub in Memphis. Although there were a few guest musicians and singers on the record, the core lineup was Snider on acoustic guitar, Joe Mariencheck on bass, Joe McLeary on drums, Utley on keyboards, Eddie Shaver on electric guitar, and Peter Hyrka on mandolin, acoustic guitar, and violin.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.discogs.com/Todd-Snider-Songs-For-The-Daily-Planet/release/1906404 |title= Todd Snider – Songs for the Daily Planet |author=<!--Not stated--> |website= Discogs |access-date= July 26, 2021}}</ref> The record included a hidden track, "Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues," which became a minor radio hit, reaching No. 31 on the ''Billboard'' Album Rock Tracks chart.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= January 7, 1995 |title= AlbumRock Tracks |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1995/1995-01-07-Billboard-Page-0097.pdf#search=%22todd%20snider%22 |magazine= Billboard |pages= 103 |access-date= July 26, 2021}}</ref> A talking blues for Gen-X, the song mocked the early ’90s grunge scene and featured a band that refused to play. The video for another single from the album, "Alright Guy," was in rotation on VH1.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= March 25, 1995 |title= Video Monitor |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1995/1995-03-25-Billboard-Page-0041.pdf#search=%22alright%20guy%22 |magazine= Billboard |pages= 43 |access-date= July 26, 2021}}</ref>

Snider's second album for Margaritaville/MCA, ''Step Right Up'', was released on April 23, 1996, and ''Billboard'' proclaimed it to be "more stunning than his debut."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Borzillo |first= Carrie|date= May 4, 1996 |title= Stepping Up |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9gsEAAAAMBAJ&dq=todd+snider+%22step+right+up%22&pg=PA20|magazine= Billboard |access-date= July 26, 2021}}</ref> Brown and Utley were coproducers with Snider, and Utley backed Snider and the Wrecks on keyboards.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/step-right-up-mw0000186371/credits |title= Todd Snider – ''Step Right Up'': Credits |author=<!--Not stated--> |website= AllMusic |access-date= July 26, 2021}}</ref>

Snider's third album, ''Viva Satellite'', represented a turning point in his career. Prior to making the record, Margaritaville left MCA and signed with Island Records for distribution. But MCA retained rights to Snider's recordings, so they would release the album. No longer recording for Margaritaville or working with Brown and Utley, Snider produced some sides at engineer Justin Niebank's studio in Franklin, Tennessee, with mixed success. Only one of the tracks he cut there would make the album, the finale "Doublewide Blues." Snider recorded the rest of the album at Ardent Studios in Memphis with producer-engineer John Hampton. He was backed by Kimbrough on guitar, Mariencheck on bass, [[Paul Buchignani]] on drums, and Rick Steff playing keyboards, and the result was a more straight-ahead rock record than his first two.<ref>{{cite web |url=  https://www.discogs.com/Todd-Snider-Viva-Satellite/release/4832355 |title= Todd Snider –Viva Satellite |author=<!--Not stated--> |website= Discogs |access-date= July 26, 2021}}</ref> Shortly before the album was released in May 1998, there was trouble at a private performance in L.A. for MCA execs and their staffs. Snider, who was struggling with drugs at the time, insulted those in attendance early in the set and then left the stage. Not long thereafter, MCA released him from his contract.<ref>{{cite journal |last =Skanse |first =Richard |date=July 1, 2004 |title= Q&A: Todd Snider |url= https://lonestarmusicmagazine.com/qa-todd-snider/ |journal= Lone Star Music Magazine |access-date= August 29, 2021}}</ref>