He was born Thomas Garrett in Dallas, Texas in 1939.  Somewhere along the line he picked up the nickname Snuff, most likely from a brand of tobacco product called Garrett. In 1958, while still in his teens, Snuff moved to Hollywood and began to work at Liberty Records.

Snuff had some of the greatest hits in his career with Bobby Vee, Cher, Vicki Lawrence, and a list of country hits. 

Even though he couldn't play a note of music, he knew what he liked. 

He produced a series of albums throughout the 60's that featured guitarist Tommy Tedesco, called 50 Guitars Of Tommy Garrett.

In the mid-60's, working with arranger Leon Russell at Liberty, Garrett managed to produce seven straight top ten hits with Gary Lewis and the Playboys. Among these were This Diamond Ring, Count Me In, Save Your Heart For Me, and Everybody Loves A Clown.