"I'm Moving On" | ||||
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Single by Hank Snow | ||||
B-side | "With This Ring, I Thee Wed" | |||
Released | May 1950 | |||
Format | Country | |||
Recorded | March 28, 1950 Brown Radio Productions Nashville, Tennessee |
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Genre | Country | |||
Label | RCA Victor | |||
Writer(s) | Clarence E. Snow (Hank Snow) | |||
Producer(s) | Stephen Sholes | |||
Hank Snow singles chronology | ||||
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"I'm Moving On" is a 1950 country standard written by Hank Snow. The song, a 12-bar blues, reached #1 on the Billboard country singles chart and stayed there for 21 weeks, tying the record. It was the first of seven number-one Billboard country hits Snow scored throughout his career on that chart.
The song has four bars of verse followed by eight bars of chorus with the final lines referring back to the verse:
"I'm Moving On" is one of three songs in the history of the Billboard country charts to spend 21 weeks at #1, the others being 1947's "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)" by Eddy Arnold and 1955's "In the Jailhouse Now" by Webb Pierce. It spent 44 weeks in Billboard's top 10. Until August 2013, the three songs jointly held the record for most weeks at No. 1 on the country chart, until being surpassed by "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line, which logged its 22nd week atop the chart on August 10, 2013.
While Hank Snow's version was still on the charts, hillbilly comedians Lonzo and Oscar released a parody version:
The song was famously covered in 1959 by Ray Charles, whose version hit number forty on the pop singles chart and number eleven on the R&B singles chart. Charles's version with his soul band featured congas and maracas, giving the Spanish tinge to a country and western blues. It was also recorded on his last recording session with Atlantic months before he signed with ABC.
Produced by Jerry Wexler, Charles provides the lead vocals, and is backed by the Raelettes. The Ray Charles Orchestra provided the instrumentation.