Hank Snow

ABOUT HANK SNOW

On September 2nd 1935 Hank Snow married Minnie Blanche Aalders, who stayed with Hank through all the hard, traveling years and beyond. Hank and Minnie had one son together, Jimmie Rodgers Snow (named after Hank's idol Jimmie Rodgers), who also traveled with them and eventually joined Hank on stage on numerous occasions.

In 1936 he made his first recording in Montreal with RCA Victor's Bluebird label and signed a contract that would last 47 years, the longest continuous contract in the history of the recording industry.

The man known as "Hank, The Singing Ranger"‚ made his way down South and had his first appearance at WWVA Jamboree in 1945. Here he acquired his trained horse Shawnee, whose tricks and daredevil stunts with Hank endeared them to audiences.

Ernest Tubb invited Hank to the Grand Ole Opry on January 7, 1950. He performed at the Opry for 46 years. His first few appearances received only luke-warm appreciation, until he wrote and recorded the song "I'm Movin' On", which became the top country song of 1950 and still holds the country music record for number of consecutive weeks at the number one chart position. This enabled him to finally buy the family's first home, the Rainbow Ranch, where Min still lives today, just outside of Nashville.

In 1954 another top country song of the year followed, Hank's "I Don't Hurt Any More".

In the early fifties Hank discovered a young singer, in his mind a country singer, who just emphasized the beat a little more. The young talent's name was Elvis Presley, and Hank took him on as an opening act, and later invited him to the Grand Ole Opry and introduced him to Colonel Parker who eventually became Elvis' Manager.

Hank Snow sold over 70 million records in his career that spanned 78's, 45's, extended 45's, LP's, 8-tracks, cassettes and compact discs.

Throughout his life he recorded over 100 LPs, including everything from hit parade material to gospel, train songs, instrumentals (alone and with Chet Atkins), tributes to Jimmie Rodgers and the Sons of the Pioneers, and recitations of Robert Service poems. He has always kept a warm spot in his heart for Nova Scotia, and he paid homage with his album "My Nova Scotia Home". He also recorded "Squid Jiggin' Ground" in honor of the fishermen he sailed with out of Lunenburg in his early youth.

His recordings were released in England, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and elsewhere.

He entertained troops during the Korean and Vietnam wars as well as in Germany and Norway.

Because he never forgot his troubled childhood he established the Hank Snow Foundation for abused children. He supported many foster children from around the world. He also dedicated a wonderful children's playground on the site of his parent's former home in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia in which Bowater Mersey Paper Company constructed.

At one time Hank operated a music school in Nashville, a publishing house in New York and owned two radio stations.