Justin Tubb

Justin Tubb held a longstanding spot among the performers at the Grand Ole Opry, crafting songs and delivering them in a voice unmistakably his own. Only once did he depart from his independent path, joining his celebrated father Ernest Tubb for a duet of “Blue Eyed Elaine” on the 1979 album The Legend and the Legacy.

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Justin remained in the Lone Star State for most of his life, living with his mother Elaine after her 1948 separation from Ernest. He first performed professionally in neighborhood venues while still in college, then relocated to Nashville. At Ernest’s urging he accepted a disc-jockey post in Gallatin, Tennessee, where he occasionally introduced his own material; his debut single, “Ooh-La-La,” appeared in 1953.

Steady sessions marked the rest of the 1950s, yet solo releases yielded only modest returns. Greater traction came through playful pairings with Goldie Hill, notably their 1954 Top Five treatment of Jim Ed and Maxine Brown’s “Looking Back to See” and the follow-up Top 15 hit “Sure Fire Kisses.” Tubb joined the Opry roster in 1955, then scored his first solo Top Ten entry the next year with “I Gotta Go Get My Baby.”

Early in the 1960s he moved to Starday, issued several albums, and toured so extensively that the Opry temporarily suspended him for insufficient appearances. After 1963 he recorded for RCA, cutting two duets with Lorene Mann that included “We’ve Gone Too Far Again.” His final chart single, the minor hit “But Wait There’s More,” closed that chapter.

Tubb kept recording, traveling, and appearing at the Opry through the 1970s. Songwriting continued to occupy him as well; Hawkshaw Hawkins reached number one with “Lonesome 7-7203,” while Del Reeves enjoyed a major success with “Be Glad.” Traditional-country listeners embraced “What’s Wrong with the Way We’re Doing It Now.” Tubb also penned and performed tributes to his father, among them “Thanks, Troubadour, Thanks” and “Just You and Me, Daddy.” He died on January 24, 1998.