Hank Snow
Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914[1] – December 20, 1999)[2] was a Canadian-American country music guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Most popular in the 1950s, he was active more than 50 years. He recorded 140 albums, and charted more than 85 singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980. His number-one hits include the self-penned songs "I'm Moving On", "The Golden Rocket", and "The Rhumba Boogie"; and covers of "I Don't Hurt Anymore", "Let Me Go, Lover!", "I've Been Everywhere", "Hello Love", as well as other top 10 hits.[3][4]
Hank Snow
Clarence Eugene Snow
Hank, The Yodeling Ranger
Hank Snow, The Singing Ranger
May 9, 1914
Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, Canada
December 20, 1999 (aged 85)
Madison, Tennessee, U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
- composer
- musician
Vocals, guitar
1936–1996
As a songwriter he wrote on a wide range of topics, including the joys of freedom and travel as well as the anguish of tortured love - often inspired by his personal experiences. His music was rooted in his beginnings in small-town Nova Scotia where he endured extreme poverty, physical and psychological abuse as well as physically punishing labour during the Great Depression. His mother provided the emotional support and encouraged him to follow his dream of becoming an entertainer like his idol, country star Jimmie Rodgers.[3][4]
Snow won a number of music awards and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.[4] The Hank Snow Museum in Liverpool, Nova Scotia celebrates his life and work.[5][6]
Career[edit]
Early music career[edit]
At one point, Snow spotted a picture of a guitar for $12.95 in Eaton's catalogue. He figured he could sell his old guitar for five dollars, but - since he still wasn't working -
wondered how he would raise the additional $7.95. The answer came when a storeowner in the village of Blue Rocks, hired him to paint yellow pinstripes on the wooden spokes of his brand new car. He offered to pay Snow two dollars per wheel. After the new guitar arrived, Snow experimented by playing runs and chord progressions in the style of Jimmie Rodgers. He also sang and played in an old fishhouse where local men stored their gear. Soon, Snow was invited to perform in a minstrel show in Bridgewater to help raise money for charity. "Someone blackened my face with black polish and put white rings around my eyes and lips," Snow recalls. When his turn came in the show, he played a song called "I Went to See My Gal Last Night." "My debut was a big success," Snow wrote. "I even got a standing ovation."[4]
In March 1933, Snow wrote to Halifax radio station CHNS, asking for an audition. The rejection letter he received only made him more determined. Later that year, he visited the station, was given an audition and hired to do a Saturday evening show that was advertised as Clarence Snow and his Guitar. After a few months, he adopted the name "The Cowboy Blue Yodeler" in homage to his idol Jimmie Rodgers, known as "America's Blue Yodeler." Since Snow's Saturday show had no sponsor, he was not paid for his performances, but he did manage to earn money playing halls and clubs in towns where people had heard him on the radio. He also played in Halifax theatres before the movies started and performed, for $10 a week, on a CHNS musical show sponsored by a company that manufactured a popular laxative. At the urging of the station's chief engineer and announcer, he adopted the name Hank because it went well with cowboy songs and once again, influenced by Jimmie Rodgers, he became "Hank, The Yodeling Ranger." Snow also appeared occasionally on the CBC's regional network.[4]
Canadian years[edit]
Snow's audition with the Canadian division of RCA Victor in Montreal, Quebec, on October 29, 1936, led to a recording contract and the release of his first record, with "The Prisoned Cowboy" coupled with "Lonesome Blue Yodel."[4] Snow spent his entire career with RCA Victor, recording for the label until 1981. 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[edit]
Snow moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1949, and "Hank Snow, the Singing Ranger," made his first records in the United States for RCA Victor in 1949. His first US release, "Marriage Vow," climbed to number ten on the country charts in the fall of 1949; However, it was not until he was invited to play at the Grand Ole Opry in 1950 that he gained serious attention in the United States. His second release in early 1950, "I'm Moving On," was the first of seven number-one hits on the country charts. "I'm Moving On" stayed at the top for 21 weeks, setting the all-time record for most weeks at number one.
That same year "The Golden Rocket" and "The Rhumba Boogie" both hit number one, with the latter remaining there for eight weeks.[11]
Along with these hits, his other "signature song" was "I've Been Everywhere," in which he portrayed himself as a hitchhiker bragging about all the towns he had 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.
In the February 7, 1953, edition,[12] Billboard magazine reported that Snow's then-17-year-old son, Jimmie Rodgers Snow, had signed with RCA Victor, and that the younger Snow would "record duets with his father," as well as cover his own material.
Rainbow Ranch[edit]
Snow bought a ranch home in Madison, Tennessee, shortly after he experienced success with "I've Been Everywhere" and "I'm Movin' On." He named the home 'Rainbow Ranch' after his band, which was known as the "Rainbow Ranch Boys." In recent years the home has been restored by Snow's family.[13] The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Davidson County, Tennessee on November 27, 2018.[14]
Elvis Presley[edit]
A regular at the Grand Ole Opry, in 1954 Snow persuaded the directors to allow a young Elvis Presley 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. Forty years after leaving Parker, Snow stated, "I have worked with several managers over the years and have had respect for them all except one. Tom Parker [Snow refused to recognize the honorary title "Colonel"] was the most egotistical, obnoxious human being I've ever had dealings with."
Later career[edit]
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 naturalized American citizen in 1958, he still maintained friendships in Canada. He also continued reference Canada in his works, such as with the 1968 album My Nova Scotia Home.
Despite his lack of schooling, Snow was a gifted songwriter and in 1978 was elected to the 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.
Illness and death[edit]
In 1996, Snow began experiencing respiratory problems that forced him to retire from performing. He died three years later on December 20, 1999, aged 85, at his Rainbow Ranch in Madison, Tennessee, and was interred in Nashville's Spring Hill Cemetery.[15] His wife Minnie died on May 12, 2003, in Madison, Tennessee.[16]