It was 60 years ago on this day that Nova Scotia country singer Hank Snow has a Number One hit with his RCA single, ‘I Don’t Hurt Anymore’.
Clarence Eugene “Hank” Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a celebrated Canadian country music artist.
In a career that spanned nearly 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980. According to Wikipedia, his number one hits include the self-penned songs “I’m Moving On”, “The Golden Rocket” and famous versions of “I Don’t Hurt Anymore”, “Let Me Go, Lover!”, “I’ve Been Everywhere”, “Hello Love”, as well as other top 10 hits.
Snow was an accomplished songwriter whose clear, baritone voice expressed a wide range of emotions including the joys of freedom and travel as well as the anguish of tortured love.
His music was rooted in his beginnings in small town Nova Scotia where, as a frail, 80-pound youngster, he endured extreme poverty, beatings and psychological abuse as well as physically punishing labour during the economically depressed 1920s and 30s. Through it all, his musically talented mother provided the emotional support he needed to pursue his dream of becoming a famous entertainer like his idol, the country star, Jimmie Rodgers.
The stamp covers of the Canadian Country Artists series.
As a performer of traditional country music, Snow won numerous awards and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and the Music Hall of Fame. The Hank Snow Museum in Liverpool, Nova Scotia celebrates his life and work in a province where his fans still see him as an inspirational figure who triumphed over personal adversity to become one of the most influential artists in all of country music.
It is fitting that on July 31, Canada Post released the Canadian Country Artists series celebrating achievements in country music. They series honours five country performers, including Hank Snow, Shania Twain, Renée Martel, k.d. lang and Tommy Hunter.
The stamps measure 40 mm x 32 mm and are available in five separate booklets of 10, one featuring each artist. The five separate souvenir sheets measure 140 mm x 110 mm. The stamps were printed by Lowe Martin Group.
Sabrina McAllister and Xerxes Irani designed the Shania Twain, Hank Snow and Renée Martel stamps. The k.d. lang and Tommy Hunter stamps were designed by Roy White of Subplot Design Inc.
The Official First Day Cover cancellation sites are: Shania Twain, Windsor, Ont.; Tommy Hunter, London, Ont.; k.d. Lang, Edmonton, Alta.; Renée Martel, Drummondville, Que. and Hank Snow, Brooklyn, N.S.