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)
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
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- singer / singer-songwriter / guitarist / percussionist / composer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Andrew Hill High School
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Skip Spence born?
April 18, 1946 – April 16, 1999.
Where is Skip Spence from?
Skip Spence is from Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
What does Skip Spence do?
Skip Spence works as singer, singer-songwriter, guitarist, percussionist, composer.
Singer — see all → · Singer-songwriter — see all → · More people from Canada →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.