Once ashore in Canso, Snow vowed he would never return to the open sea again. Saved by the grace of God!" In 1944, he switched to CKCW in New Brunswick. Carlene Carter Revisits Her Childhood Musical Obsessions. Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Ashley MacIsaac, Johnny Cash and Emmylou Harris, among others, have covered his music. It (the record for oldest artist was Louis Armstrong in 1963 for Hello Dolly) was an accomplishment he held for more than 26 years, until Kenny Rogers's hit record in May 2000 (at 61 years and nine months), "Buy Me a Rose". Despite his declining record sales, his profile remained high through his concerts and several lifetime-achievement awards, including his induction to the Nashville Songwriters International Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1979. that might come of his speaking out for the 'decent way'! 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. A regular at the Grand Ole Opry, in 1954 Snow persuaded the directors to allow a young Elvis Presley to appear on stage. A day later, Snow learned that six other vessels had been lost in the gale and that 132 men had drowned. "I was finished," he writes. He was the fifth of six children, of whom the two eldest died in infancy. This song was originally written and performed in Australia by Geoff Mack, and its re-write incorporated North American place names. Snow himself went to live with his paternal grandmother who ordered him never to mention his mother's name and subjected him to severe beatings as well as psychological abuse. ), In Robert Altman's 1975 film Nashville, Henry Gibson played a self-obsessed country star loosely based on Hank Snow. Snow tried to break into the U.S.A. several times, playing The Wheeling Jamboree in West Virginia, briefly moving to Hollywood, and performing concerts with his trick pony Shawnee, but he was having no luck finding fans. Snow's audition with the Canadian division of RCA Victor in Montreal, Quebec, on October 29, 1936, led to a recording contract and the release of his first record with "The Prisoned Cowboy" coupled with "Lonesome Blue Yodel". Snow appeared regularly on the Opry into the '90s, proving that his incredible voice suffered no loss of quality over the last half-century, as well as what a tasteful, understated guitar stylist he is. In 1994, Snow published his autobiography, The Hank Snow Story. [5] After divorcing his father, Hank's mother married Charles Tanner in 1930. Snow writes that when they were about 14 miles from the island, "the Good Lord reached out his Hand and changed the wind. At first, she ordered Hank not to touch the guitar because it was one of her prized possessions, but later, when she finally allowed him to play, she marveled at the various sounds that Hank could get from the instrument.