Biography
Born: 2/9/1914
Birthplace: Crisp, TX
Deceased: 9/6/1984
Year of Grand Ole Opry Membership: 1943
Year in Country Music Hall of Fame: 1965
This bio courtesy of Ernest
Tubb Record Shops.
When Ernest Tubb ("E.T." to his friends) was inducted
into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1965, he said, "I
don't deserve it. But I'm sure glad somebody thought I
did." All his life, E.T. put country music first and
himself second. Born Ernest Dale Tubb on February 9, 1914 in
Crisp, Texas, all he ever wanted to do was sing like Jimmie
Rodgers. Tubb was 19 before he ever picked up a guitar, but once
Tubb set his mind to something, he didn't go by halves. He
practiced on his $5.50 used guitar until his fingers bled.
Eventually he got a job singing on radio station KONO in San
Antonio and decided to contact Carrie Rodgers, Jimmie Rodgers'
widow. She became a fan of his radio show, and she not only
arranged for E.T. to have a 1936 recording session with RCA, but
also loaned him one of Jimmie's guitars for the session.
Ernest Tubb went through more years of struggling before
lightning struck, but when "Walking The Floor Over
You" hit in 1941, it hit with a vengeance. That year, Tubb
appeared in two Hollywood films, signed with J.L. Frank as
manager and agent, and made his first appearance on the Grand
Ole Opry. He became one of the first artists to record in
Nashville, and the first country music star to headline a show
at Carnegie Hall. Tubb, while determined to keep his music
country, was one of the first to use electric guitars when juke
box owners complained that it was hard to hear acoustic guitars
when the bar crowds got rowdy. Besides recording on his own,
Tubb had numerous hits with Red Foley and with Loretta Lynn. In
order to promote country music, he opened his famous Ernest Tubb
Record Shop and began broadcasting his "Midnight
Jamboree" every week following the Grand Ole Opry.
Many young stars got their start playing on the Jamboree, and
several major stars came out of his band, the Texas Troubadours
(including Jack Greene and Cal Smith). Once, when someone asked
him why he appeared on the Grand Ole Opry so much despite the
heaviest touring schedule in the business, he replied,
"What else would I do? There's nothing I love more than
singing for a live audience." Throughout his career, when
E.T. finished a performance, he would flip his guitar over. On
the back was printed the word "Thanks." And he meant
it every time. He died in Nashville on September 6, 1984.
Awards
Music City News Living Legend 1984
Music City News Founders Award 1978
Please visit the Ernest
Tubb Record shop site for your favorite legend's music.
