Hank Smith, (September 15, 1934 – October 19, 2002) was a Canadian

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer. He was born in Garmisch-Partenkirchen,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and moved to Canada in 1957. He founded the band Wild Rose Country in 1963 and recorded ten albums. Twelve of Smith's singles made the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Country Tracks charts, including five which went to Number One. Hank Smith was the founding president of the Academy of Country Music Entertainment in 1976, now the

Canadian Country Music Association The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a gr ...

. Smith was appointed a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in 1994.

Chart singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Hank Members of the Order of Canada 1934 births 2002 deaths People from Garmisch-Partenkirchen Canadian country singers Canadian expatriates in Germany Musicians from Edmonton 20th-century Canadian male singers