Clarence Eugene Snow (May 9,
1914 – December 20, 1999), better known as Hank
Snow, was a Canadian
-American
country music
artist. He charted more than 70 singles on the
Billboard country charts from 1950
until 1980. This total includes the number 1 hits "
I'm Movin' On," "
The Golden Rocket", "I Don't Hurt
Anymore," "
Let Me Go, Lover!,"
"
I've Been Everywhere," and
"Hello Love" as well as other top ten hits. He is a member of both
the Canadian
Country
Music Hall of Fame and the
Music Hall of Fame.
Biography
Snow was
born in Brooklyn
, Queens
County, Nova
Scotia
, Canada
. He
ran away from home to escape a brutal stepfather when he was 12
years old and joined a fishing boat as a cabin boy.
When he was 14, he
ordered his first guitar from an Eaton's
department store catalog for $5.95, and played his first show
in a church basement in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
at age 16. He then sang in local clubs and bars in
nearby Halifax
, where he
married Minnie Blanche Aalders in 1935 and had one son, Rev.
Jimmy Rodgers Snow.
Canadian years
A
successful appearance on a local radio station led to Snow's
audition with RCA Victor in Montreal,
Quebec
. In 1936, he signed with the label, staying
for more than 45 years.
A weekly CBC radio show brought him
national recognition, and he began touring Canada until the late
1940s when American country
music stations began playing his records.
Nashville calls
Snow moved
to Nashville,
Tennessee
in 1945, and "Hank Snow, the Singing Ranger"
(modified from his nickname, the Yodeling Ranger given him before
his voice changed to a baritone), was invited to play at the
Grand Ole
Opry
in 1950. That same year he released his hit,
"I'm Movin' On." The first of seven number 1 hits on the country
charts, "I'm Movin' On" stayed at the top for 22 weeks, setting the
all-time record for most weeks at number 1.
Along with this hit, his other "signature song" was "I've Been
Everywhere," in which he portrayed himself as a
hitchhiker bragging about all the towns he'd been
through. This song was originally written and performed in
Australia by
Geoff Mack, and its re-write
incorporated North American place names. Rattling off a well-rhymed
series of city names at an
auctioneer's
pace has long made the song a challenge for any singer.
While
performing in Renfro
Valley
, Snow worked with a young Hank Williams; Snow remained Williams' idol
for the rest of his career.
Elvis
A regular at the Grand Ole Opry, in 1954 Snow persuaded the
directors to allow a young
Elvis
Presley to appear on stage. Snow used Presley as his opening
act and introduced him to
Colonel Tom
Parker. In August 1955, Snow and Parker formed the management
team, Hank Snow Attractions. This partnership signed a management
contract with Presley but before long, Snow was out and Parker had
full control over the rock singer's career.
Later career
Performing in lavish and colourful sequin-studded suits, Snow had a
career covering six decades during which he sold more than 80
million albums. Although he became a American
naturalized citizen in 1958, he still
maintained friendships in Canada and remembered his roots with the
1968 album,
My Nova Scotia Home. That same year he
performed at campaign stops on behalf of U.S. presidential
candidate
George Wallace.
Despite his lack of schooling, Snow was a gifted songwriter and in
1978 was elected to
Nashville Songwriters Hall of
Fame. In Canada, he was ten times voted that country's top
country music performer.
In 1979, he was elected to the Country Music
Hall of Fame
, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and
the Nova Scotia Music
Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the
Canadian Country Music Hall
of Fame in 1985.
His
autobiography, The Hank Snow Story, was published in 1994,
and later The Hank Snow Country Music Centre opened near his
ancestral home in Liverpool, Nova Scotia
. A victim of child abuse, he established the
Hank Snow International Foundation For Prevention Of Child
Abuse.
Death
Snow died
in 1999 at his Rainbow Ranch in Madison, Tennessee
and was interred in the Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville. Minnie died in 2003.
Legacy
Elvis Presley,
The Rolling
Stones,
Ray Charles,
Ashley MacIsaac,
Johnny Cash and
Emmylou Harris, among others, have covered
his music.
One of his last top hits, "
Hello Love",
was sung by
Garrison Keillor to
open each broadcast of his
Prairie Home Companion radio
show. The song became Snow's seventh and final number 1 hit on the
Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in April 1974.
At 59 years and 11 months, Snow became the oldest artist to have a
top song on the chart. It was an accomplishment he held for more
than 26 years, until
Kenny Rogers's hit
record in May 2000 (at 61 years and nine months), "
Buy Me a Rose." (
Dolly
Parton and
Willie Nelson
subsequently reached the top of the chart at older ages as
secondary duet partners on records fronted by other artists.)
In
Robert Altman's 1975 film
Nashville,
Henry Gibson played a self-obsessed country
star loosely based on Hank Snow. He was also mentioned in the film
Smokey and the
Bandit. When Cletus Snow, making a
collect call, gives his name, the operator's
response is not heard, but Cletus replies "No, I'm not Hank Snow's
brother."
Discography
Albums
| Year |
Album |
Chart Positions |
Label |
| US
Country |
US |
| 1952 |
Country Classics |
|
|
RCA Victor |
| Hank Snow Sings |
|
|
| 1953 |
Hank Snow Salutes Jimmie Rodgers |
|
|
| 1954 |
Hank Snow's Country Guitar |
|
|
| 1955 |
Just Keep a-Movin' |
|
|
| Old Doc Brown and Other Narrations by Hank Snow |
|
|
| 1957 |
Country & Western Jamboree |
|
|
| 1958 |
Hank Snow Sings Sacred Songs |
|
|
| 1959 |
Hank Snow Sings Jimmie Rodgers Songs |
|
|
| 1961 |
Hank Snow Souvenirs |
|
|
| Big Country Hits (Songs I Hadn't Recorded Till
Now) |
|
|
| 1963 |
I've Been Everywhere |
|
|
| Railroad Man |
7 |
|
| 1964 |
More Hank Snow Souvenirs |
1 |
|
| Songs of Tragedy |
11 |
|
| Reminiscing
(w/ Chet Atkins) |
|
|
| 1965 |
Your Favorite Country Hits |
|
|
| Gloryland March |
|
|
| Heartbreak Trail: A Tribute to the Sons of the
Pioneers |
26 |
|
| The Best of Hank Snow |
|
|
| 1966 |
The Guitar Stylings of Hank Snow |
26 |
|
| Gospel Train |
|
|
| This Is My Story |
21 |
|
| 1967 |
Snow in Hawaii |
|
|
| Christmas with Hank Snow |
|
72 |
| Spanish Fire Ball and Other Hank Snow Stylings |
35 |
|
| 1968 |
Hits, Hits and More Hits |
|
|
| Tales of the Yukon |
35 |
|
| 1969 |
Snow in All Seasons |
43 |
|
| Hits Covered by Snow |
35 |
|
| C.B.
Atkins &
C.E. Snow by Special
Request (w/ Chet Atkins) |
|
|
| 1970 |
Hank Snow Sings in Memory of Jimmie Rodgers |
45 |
|
| Cure for the Blues |
|
|
| 1971 |
Tracks & Trains |
45 |
|
| Award Winners |
|
|
| 1972 |
The Jimmie Rodgers Story |
|
|
| The Best 2 |
|
|
| 1973 |
Grand Ole Opry Favorites |
|
|
| 1974 |
Now Is the Hour |
|
|
| Hello Love |
4 |
|
| That's You and Me |
35 |
|
| 1975 |
You're Easy to Love |
48 |
|
| 1976 |
Live from Evangel Temple (w/ Jimmy
Snow) |
|
|
| 1977 |
#104 - Still Movin' On |
47 |
|
| 1979 |
The Mysterious Lady |
|
|
| Lovingly Yours (w/ Kelly Foxton) |
|
|
| Instrumentally Yours |
|
|
| 1981 |
Win Some Lose Some Lonesome (w/ Kelly
Foxton) |
|
|
| 1985 |
Brand On My Heart (w/ Willie Nelson) |
|
|
Columbia |
Singles
| Year |
Title |
Chart positions |
| US
Country |
US |
CAN Country |
| 1949 |
"Marrige Vow" |
10 |
|
|
| 1950 |
"I'm Moving
On" |
1 |
|
|
| "The Golden Rocket" |
1 |
|
|
| 1951 |
"The Rhumba Boogie" |
4 |
|
|
| "Bluebird Island" (w/ Anita
Carter) |
4 |
|
|
| "Down the Trail of Achin' Hearts" (w/ Anita
Carter) |
2 |
|
|
| "Unwanted Sign Upon Your Heart" |
6 |
|
|
| "Music Makin' Mama from Memphis" |
4 |
|
|
| 1952 |
"The Gold Rush Is Over" |
2 |
|
|
| "Lady's Man" |
2 |
|
|
| "Married by the Bible, Divorced by the Law" |
8 |
|
|
| "I Went to Your Wedding" |
3 |
|
|
| "The Gal Who Inventing Kissin'" |
4 |
|
|
| "(Now and Then, There's) A Fool Such As I" |
3 |
|
|
| 1953 |
"Honeymoon on a Rocket Ship" |
9 |
|
|
| "Spanish Fire Ball" |
3 |
|
|
| "For Now and Always" |
10 |
|
|
| "When Mexican Joe Met Jole Brown" |
6 |
|
|
| 1954 |
"I Don't Hurt Anymore" |
1 |
|
|
| "That Crazy Mambo Thing" |
10 |
|
|
| "Let Me Go, Lover!" |
1 |
|
|
| 1955 |
"The Next Voice You Hear" |
15 |
|
|
| "Silver Bell" (w/ Chet
Atkins) |
15 |
|
|
| "Yellow Roses" |
3 |
|
|
| "Would You Mind?" |
3 |
|
|
| "Cryin', Prayin', Waitin', Hopin'" |
7 |
|
|
| "I'm Glad I Got to See You Once Again" |
7 |
|
|
| "Mainliner (The Hawk with Silver Wings)" |
5 |
|
|
| "Born to Be Happy" |
5 |
|
|
| 1956 |
"These Hands" |
5 |
|
|
| "I'm Moving In" |
11 |
|
|
| "Conscience I'm Guilty" |
4 |
|
|
| "Hula Rock" |
5 |
|
|
| "Stolen Moments" |
7 |
|
|
| 1957 |
"Tangled Mind" |
4 |
|
|
| "My Arms Are a House" |
8 |
|
|
| 1958 |
"Whispering Rain" |
15 |
|
|
| "Big Wheels" |
7 |
|
|
| "A Woman Captured Me" |
16 |
|
|
| 1959 |
"Doggone That Train" |
19 |
|
|
| "Chasin' a Rainbow" |
6 |
|
|
| "The Last Ride" |
3 |
|
|
| 1960 |
"Rockin', Rollin' Ocean" |
22 |
87 |
|
| "Miller's Cave" |
9 |
101 |
|
| 1961 |
"Beggar to a King" |
5 |
|
|
| "The Restless One" |
11 |
|
|
| 1962 |
"You Take the Future (And I'll Take the Past)" |
15 |
|
|
| "I've Been Everywhere" |
1 |
68 |
|
| 1963 |
"The Man Who Robbed the Bank at Santa Fe" |
9 |
|
|
| "Ninety Miles an Hour (Down a Dead End Street)" |
2 |
124 |
|
| 1964 |
"Breakfast with the Blues" |
11 |
|
|
| "I Stepped Over the Line" |
21 |
|
|
| 1965 |
"The Wishing Well (Down in the Well)" |
7 |
|
|
| "The Queen of Draw Poker Town" |
28 |
|
|
| 1966 |
"I've Cried a Mile" |
18 |
|
|
| "The Count Down" |
22 |
|
|
| "Hula Love" |
21 |
|
|
| 1967 |
"Down at the Pawn Shop" |
18 |
|
|
| "Learnin' a New Way of Life" |
20 |
|
|
| 1968 |
"I Just Wanted to Know (How the Wind Was Blowing)" |
70 |
|
|
| "Who Will Answer? (Aleluya No. 1)" |
69 |
|
|
| "The Late and Great Love of My Heart" |
20 |
|
5 |
| 1969 |
"The Name of the Game Was Love" |
16 |
|
1 |
| "That's When the Hurtin' Sets In" |
53 |
|
|
| 1970 |
"Come the Morning" |
57 |
|
33 |
| "Vanishing Breed" |
52 |
|
| 1971 |
" Of Old
Mexico" |
|
|
6 |
| 1972 |
"Governor's Hand" |
|
|
34 |
| 1973 |
"North to Chicago" |
71 |
|
20 |
| 1974 |
"Hello Love" |
1 |
|
1 |
| "That's You and Me" |
36 |
|
5 |
| "Easy to Love" |
26 |
|
|
| 1975 |
"Merry-Go-Round of Love" |
47 |
|
36 |
| "Hijack" |
79 |
|
|
| "Colorado Country Morning" |
95 |
|
|
| 1976 |
"Who's Been Here Since I've Been Gone" |
87 |
|
|
| "You're Wondering Why" |
98 |
|
|
| 1977 |
"Trouble in Mind" |
81 |
|
|
| "I'm Still Movin' On" |
80 |
|
|
| "Breakfast with the Blues" |
96 |
|
|
| 1978 |
"Nevertheless" |
93 |
|
|
| "Ramblin' Rose" |
93 |
|
|
| 1979 |
"The Mysterious Lady from St. Martinique" |
80 |
|
26 |
| "A Good Gal Is Hard to Find" |
91 |
|
|
| "It Takes Too Long" |
98 |
|
|
| 1980 |
"Hasn't It Been Good Together" (w/ Kelly
Foxton) |
78 |
|
39 |
See also
References
- Wolfe, Charles. (1998). "Hank Snow". In The Encyclopedia of
Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford
University Press. pp. 494–5.
External links
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