Mr. Tubb was born in Crisp, Texas in 1914, and was the sixth member to be elected to the Country
Music Hall of Fame.  Tubb was a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 till the day he died.
Tubb did not get his first guitar until he was 20.  Tubb's big influence was Jimmie Rodgers, the "Singing
Brakeman."  During his teen years he would emulate Rodgers singing around at family and home town
get-togethers even before he got a guitar.

After limited success during the 1930s, Tubb's recording of "Walking the Floor Over You," a self-penned
composition released in autumn 1942, became a million-seller, helping him gain his first appearance on the
Opry in December. He gained regular membership during 1943. Also, in 1947, he opened the first of his
now famous record shops and commenced his Midnight Jamboree program over WSM, advertising the
shop and showcasing the talents of up and coming country artists.

Up through 1969, Tubb was known as "Mr. Consistency," with hits like  "Goodnight Irene" (with Red
Foley in 1950), "I Love You Because," "Missing in Action," "Two Glasses Joe" (1954),  Half a Mind,
Thanks A Lot, Mr. and Mrs. Used-To-Be (with Loretta Lynn in 1964), and "Let's say  Goodbye, Like
We said Hello."

Tubb and his Texas Troubadours played around 300 dates a year.  He was uch loved, when he set
out to record his "Legend and Legacy" album for First Generation records in 1979, virtually everyone
who was anyone in Nashville dropped by to see if they could help out. The album line-up eventually
featured the names of Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, Vern Gosdin, Chet Atkins, Merle Haggard, Johnny
Cash, Charlie Rich, Johnny Paycheck, Linda Hargrove, Marty Robbins, Conway Twitty, the Wilburn
Brothers, Ferlin Husky, Waylon Jennings, Charlie Daniels, George Jones, and many, many others. When
he died, on September 6, 1984, the whole of Music City mourned the man writer Chet Flippo once ac-
curately described as "honky-tonk music personified."

We would love your help continuing this story...if you have any important dates or
information that helps us tell the story of the evolution of  the music and
entertainment business send them to us and we will add to KICKIN' UP DUST