Photo: KRLA/Beat Publications-page 2 Photo by Chuck Boyd of Beat. The newspaper was produced for KRLA Radio, Los Angeles, in the mid-1960s. / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Skip Spence was born on April 18, 1946 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and was credited as a singer, singer-songwriter and guitarist. Death is recorded on April 16, 1999, at the age of 52. Skip Spence studied at Andrew Hill High School.
My Take
Skip Spence is one of those figures I find impossible to file away neatly. Co-founding Moby Grape and then walking away after a single, fragile solo record, Oar, he became a cult touchstone almost by disappearing. What moves me is how that vulnerability bleeds into the music: nothing slick, nothing commercial, just raw honesty from a man whose mental illness pulled him out of the industry far too soon. He died in 1999, days short of 53, but artists keep rediscovering him. I think the most fragile talents deserve the most careful remembering, and Spence earns mine.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Skip Spence
- Name (Japanese)
- アレックス・スキップ・スペンス
- Reading
- あれっくす・すきっぷ・すぺんす
- Born
- April 18, 1946 – April 16, 1999
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Dog
- Origin
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Occupation
- singer / singer-songwriter / guitarist / percussionist / composer
2. Background
- High school
- Andrew Hill High School
3. Links
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Skip Spence born?
Born April 18, 1946.
When did Skip Spence die?
Died April 16, 1999, aged 52.
Where was Skip Spence from?
Skip Spence was from Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
What did Skip Spence do?
Skip Spence worked as singer, singer-songwriter, guitarist, percussionist, composer.
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