five star records

As much as I like my jazz, soul and blues, I can't help but go back to my roots once in a while. As a kid growing up we listened to a lot of country because that's what the folks on both sides of the family listened to. Sure, there was some Elvis, some Englebert Humperdinck, a smidgen of Mills Brothers and lots of Ink Spots, but most of the house parties at Uncle Bob's featured hillbilly music, and one of my favorites from way back then was Hank Snow, 'The Singing Ranger'.

And even though Hank was born in Nova Scotia (that's in Canada, friends), he was an honorary hillbilly from the beginning, becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry and recording some of the best country music of the fifties and sixties.

In 1950, the same year he debuted at the Opry, Hank scored his first and biggest hit 'I'm Movin' On', which thrashed the other country singles of the time and stood proudly atop the country charts for a record 21 weeks!

But the song that everybody remembers Hank for is 'I've Been Everywhere', a rambling auctioneer-style account of all the towns that the singer/hitchhiker has traveled through. Adapted from an Australian song written by Geoff Mack, it first made the charts here in 1962 with a North Americanized version by Lucky Starr. Hank's cover shot to the top of the country charts and the tongue twister has been recorded by dozens of country artists since then, including a version by Johnny Cash which has recently been used in commercial spots for Choice Hotels.

As great as the 'Man In Black' was, though, his take doesn't hold a candle to Hank's definitive version.

Today's LP 'The One And Only Hank Snow' is also from 1962, and don't let the fact that it's on RCA's budget Camden label fool you. A VG condition mono copy like mine still fetches five bucks or more (I stole this one for a dollar a month ago), and in mint condition would sell upwards of $20.

The tunes here are all vintage Hank, performed when the old 'Singing Ranger' was at the height of his popularity and musical powers. Classic hillbilly instrumentation, too, with pedal steel, fiddle and geetar all backing Hank's quivering alto. 'The Wreck of the Old 97'... 'Hobo Bill's Last Ride'... 'Married by the Bible, Divorced by the Law'... 'Spanish Fire Ball'... 'The Drunkard's Son'... shoot, there's even a sweet guitar instrumental version of the classical tune 'Carnival of Venice'.

I have two favorites here, though: 'Unfaithful' and 'Old Doc Brown', the latter being a rhyming, spoken tearjerker set to church organ about a charitable doctor who died penniless.

'Unfaithful' is one of those classic country waltzes that combines the best of hillbilly fiddling with brilliant guitar picking and Hank's distinctive crooning, recounting the tale of a wicked lover who sleeps around on her hapless partner, who can't help being hopelessly in love with her, even though she's a slut. Give it a spin, you'll love it!

Hank went on to record over a hundred LPs during his long career, selling millions and topping the charts again and again right up into his sixties (he scored a country number one with 'Hello Love' in 1974 at the ripe old age of sixty-one) before eventually dying at home in Tennessee at the age of 85.

A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nova Scotia Music Hall of Fame (Who knew? I'm guessing they started it just for Hank!), Hank also performed for the troops in Vietnam and Korea.

Trivia: Hank was instrumental in launching Elvis' career, using the young Elvis as an opening act in 1954 before introducing him to the infamous Colonel Tom Parker. Snow and Parker co-managed the young rock-n-roller until Parker muscled Hank out and took over.

And that, my friends, is musical history.