This week I’ve been mostly listening to Hank Snow. I’ve never been a fan of so-called “country music” as the term calls forth Garth Brooks and tackly 1970s Clint Eastwood movie soundtracks, but it seems that prior to say 1960 such music was good.
Wikipedia says that Clarence Eugene Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999), better known as Hank Snow, was a Hall of Fame country music singer and songwriter.
Snow was born in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, Canada. In his teens he travelled to the nearest big city, Halifax, Nova Scotia where he sang in local clubs and bars. A successful appearance on a local radio station led to his being given a chance to audition for RCA Victor in Montreal, Quebec. In 1936, he signed with RCA Victor, staying with them for more than forty-five years.
A weekly Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBA) radio show brought him national recognition and he began touring Canada until the late 1940s when American country music stations began playing his records. He headed to the “Country Music Capital of the World”, Nashville, Tennessee in the neighbouring United States. Snow, the “Singing Ranger” (a nickname modified from the Yodelling Ranger when his high voice changed to the baritone that graced his hit records) would be invited to play at the Grand Ole Opry in 1950. That same year he released his mega-hit, “I’m Movin’ On”. The first of seven Number 1 hits on the country charts, “I’m Movin’ On” stayed at Number 1 for nearly half a year.
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. Rattling off a well-rhymed series of city names at an auctioneer’s pace, the song has long been a challenge for any country-music singer to attempt. Johnny Cash’s version of it was used in recent years as the soundtrack to an American motel chain’s television commercials.
“I’ve Been Everywhere” Lyrics
I was totin my pack along the long dusty Winnemucca road
When along came a semi with a high canvas covered load
If your goin’ to Winnemucca, Mack with me you can ride
And so I climbed into the cab and then I setteled down inside
He asked me if I’d seen a road with so much dust and sand
And I said, “Listen! I’ve traveled every road in this here land!”I’ve been everywhere, man
I’ve been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I’ve breatherd the mountain air, man
Of travel I’ve had my share, man
I’ve been everywhereI’ve been to:
Reno
Chicago
Fargo
Minnesota
Buffalo
Toronto
Winslow
Sarasota
Wichita
Tulsa
Ottawa
Oklahoma
Tampa
Panama
Mattawa
LaPaloma
Bangor
Baltimore
Salvador
Amarillo
Tocapillo
Barranquilla
And PadillaI’m a Killer
I’ve been everywhere, man
I’ve been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I’ve breatherd the mountain air, man
Of travel I’ve had my share, man
I’ve been everywhereI’ve been to:
Boston
Charleston
Dayton
Louisiana
Washington
Houston
Kingston
Texarkana
Monterey
Fairaday
Santa Fe
Tallapoosa
Glen Rock
Black Rock
Little Rock
Oskaloosa
Tennessee
Tennessee
Chicopee
Spirit Lake
Grand Lake
Devil’s Lake
Crater LakeFor Pete’s Sake
I’ve been everywhere, man
I’ve been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I’ve breatherd the mountain air, man
Of travel I’ve had my share, man
I’ve been everywhereI’ve been to:
Louisville
Nashville
Knoxville
Ombabika
Schefferville
Jacksonville
Waterville
Costa Rock
Pittsfield
Springfield
Bakersfield
Shreveport
Hackensack
Cadillac
Fond du Lac
Davenport
Idaho
Jellico
Argentina
Diamantina
Pasadena
CatalinaSee What I Mean
I’ve been everywhere, man
I’ve been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I’ve breatherd the mountain air, man
Of travel I’ve had my share, man
I’ve been everywhereI’ve been to:
Pittsburgh
Parkersburg
Gravelbourg
Colorado
Ellensburg
Rexburg
Vicksburg
Eldorado
Larimore
Adimore
Haverstraw
Chatanika
Shasta
Nebraska
Alaska
Opalacka
Baraboo
Waterloo
Kalamazoo
Kansas City
Sioux City
Cedar City
Dodge CityWhat A Pity
I’ve been everywhere, man
I’ve been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man
Of travel I’ve had my share, man
I’ve been everywhere
A regular at the Grand Ole Opry, in 1954 Hank Snow persuaded the directors to allow a new singer by the name of Elvis Presley to appear on stage. He used Elvis as his opening act, before introducing him to Colonel Tom Parker. In August of 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.
In 1958, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Performing in lavish and colourful sequin-studded suits, his career covered six decades during which he sold more than 80 million albums. Although he became a proud American citizen, he still maintained his friendships in Canada and remembered his roots with the 1968 Album, “My Nova Scotia Home”.
In Robert Altman’s 1975 film Nashville, Henry Gibson played a self-obsessed country star loosely based on Hank Snow.
Despite his lack of schooling, he was a gifted songwriter and in 1978 was elected to Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In Canada, ten times he was voted that country’s top country music performer. In 1979, Hank Snow was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Nova Scotia Music Hall of Fame.
In 1994 his autobiography, “The Hank Snow Story,” was published, and later The Hank Snow Country Music Centre in Liverpool, Nova Scotia would open.
Snow died in Madison, Tennessee in the United States and was interred in the Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville.
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