76 Years Ago Today, Hank Snow Was Riding a Historic No. 1 Streak With a Song Later Covered by Ray Charles, the Rolling Stones, and Emmylou Harris

On this day (November 13) in 1950, Hank Snow was in the middle of a record-breaking run atop the U.S. country singles chart with “I’m Moving On”, the song that launched him to country music superstardom. It marked the first of seven No. 1 hits from the Canadian hitmaker, establishing a “traveling” theme that would resurface in later chart-toppers including “I’ve Been Everywhere”.

He Knew a Little Something About “Moving On”

Penned from the perspective of a man newly freed from a bad relationship with an unfaithful lover, “I’m Moving On” sounds like true, unbridled freedom:
That big eight wheeler a rollin’ down the track / Means your true lovin’ daddy ain’t comin’ back / ‘Cause I’m movin’ on, I’ll soon be gone

Indeed, Hank Snow likely drew from a lifetime of experience with “moving on.” Growing up in poverty in a tiny Nova Scotia fishing village, the singer-songwriter ran away from home multiple times, each time fleeing an abusive relative.

In 1926, he found work on a fishing boat as a cabin boy, where he would entertain his crewmates with songs he’d written himself.

Returning to shore after surviving a near-fatal shipwreck, Snow decided to live the landlubber lifestyle. Modeling himself after his idol Jimmie Rodgers, he performed on Canadian radio as “Hank, the Yodeling Ranger”.

In the late 1930s, Snow recorded about 90 songs for RCA imprint Canadian Bluebird. Unfortunately, none of them managed to crack the U.S. market.

Thus, he finally made the move to Nashville, where country singer Ernest Tubb helped him finagle an invitation to the Grand Ole Opry in 1950.

Hank Snow’s Label Initially Rejected His First No. 1 Hit

Hank Snow wrote his freewheeling breakout country hit “I’m Moving On” entirely on his own.

Initially, he wanted to record the song during his first session for RCA Records in 1949. However, recording director Stephen H. Sholes nixed it. Later, Snow took advantage of a lapse in Sholes’ memory and recorded “I’m Moving On” at Brown Radio Productions in Nashville.

Released on May 5, 1950, “I’m Moving On” became the longest-running No. 1 country song of 1950 on all three Billboard charts. A year later, it spent an additional three weeks atop the best-sellers chart, tying a record set by Eddy Arnold with “I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)” in 1948.

Snow would go on to nab six additional No. 1 hits during his six-decade career, including “The Golden Rocket”, “The Rhumba Boogie”, “I Don’t Hurt Anymore”, “Let Me Go, Lover!”, “I’ve Been Everywhere”, and “Hello Love”.

Less than a decade after the song’s release, Ray Charles recorded a soul version of “I’m Moving On” complete with congas and maracas. Charles’ rendition reached No. 40 on the U.S. pop chart and No. 11 on the R&B chart.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1999, We Lost the Country Hitmaker Who Overcame a Hardscrabble Upbringing To Become “The Singing Ranger”]

In 1965, the Rolling Stones charted in Sweden with their cover of the song. Nearly 20 years later, Emmylou Harris took her up-tempo version of “I’m Moving On” to No. 5 on the country charts.

Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images