The Essential

Snow, Hank

album cover

Canada's Great Country Kingpin, the "Singing Ranger"

Easily the most significant country music star to hail from Nova Scotia, Hank Snow (1914–1999) had a disciplined voice, and diction that was clear and decidedly cornpone-free. From his 1950 breakthrough, a Jimmie Rodgers–style railrider's song called "I'm Movin' On," Snow showed that it wasn't necessary to sound like a mountain man to sing country. One of his signature hits, "I've Been Everywhere" (1962), is a precursor of sorts to hip-hop: Over a brisk clippety-clop, Snow dispenses a deftly rhymed list of places he's been and troubles he's seen.

That song is known to most through Johnny Cash's cover, which has been used in several television ads. Snow sings it with such precision, it becomes a display of narrative skill and pure verbal dexterity. The dude's itinerary is impressive, but even more impressive is the way he links the dots on the map.

After the runaway success of "I'm Movin' On," which stayed at the top of the charts for twenty-one weeks, Snow was invited to perform on the Grand Ole Opry, and became a regular. (He was directly responsible for Elvis Presley's Opry bow in 1954, and briefly comanaged the Memphis singer.) Between 1949 and 1980, Snow placed eightyfive singles on the country charts. This collection gathers highlights from Snow's singles career (his albums are notoriously less-than-satisfying affairs). It includes the lighthearted courting song "Would You Mind," a spellbinding confession called "I Don't Hurt Anymore," and a crackerbox of clichés, "Unwanted Sign upon Your Heart," that Snow transforms into an unexpected thing of beauty.

Genre: Country
Released: 1997, RCA
Key Tracks: "I'm Movin' On," "I've Been Everywhere," "Would You Mind," "I Don't Hurt Anymore."
Catalog Choice: Blues for My Blue Eyes
Next Stop: Jimmie Rodgers: The Essential Jimmie Rodgers
Book Page: 722

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