"I'm Just Driftwood On The River Drifting Down The Tide, And I Don't Care Where This Old River Carries Me"...E. T. On The Beautiful Concho River Down Town San Angelo In !939 Or 40. (Besides San Angelo ET Resided In Midland, Brownwood, Anson & Haskell)

Justin Tubb On KGKL Radio San Angelo

"Now I Have Roamed This Wide World Over, But I'll Never Move No More, For I Love You, Swell  San Angelo"  (A Line From The Texas Troubadour's Song  In 1940 Entitled "Swell San Angelo")  Reluctantly, Ernest Tubb Did Move From San Angelo To Pursue His Dream Of Becoming A Recording Artist.  In 1939 & 1940 Ernest Had Radio Shows 6 Days A Week On KGKL, Broadcasting Live From The St. Angelus Hotel, And Played The Local Night Clubs Including The Wayside And The Hanger. (Note: The Wayside Structure Is Still In Tact On The Old Ballinger Hwy)  He Later Bought A Tavern On West Beauregard And Lived In A Small House At 21 North Koenigheim & Later On Chadbourne St.  Ernest Tubb's First Important Picker Was Erwin Short, From Borger, A Lead Guitar Player Who Developed The Style For The Ernest Tubb Sound.  The San Angelo Based Western Mattress Company Sponsored Ernest Playing On KGKL (Going Out Over The Texas State Network). It Was On KGKL That Justin Tubb, Age 4, First Sang Live On Radio.  Ernest, And 3 Other Local Pickers, Also Played Weekly Shows On A Flat-Bed Trailer To Large Crowds Around The Area Advertising Western Mattress.  From San Angelo Ernest Tubb Had To Move To Ft. Worth/Dallas In Order To Further His Career.  From 1944 To 1979  Ernest Tubb Recorded Over 100 Charted Country Hits.  Before 1944, And Billboard Charts, Ernest Recorded His Biggest All-Time Hit "Walking The Floor Over You" (Dallas In 41')  It Was On This Session That Jazz Lead Player, Fay Smith, Cranked Up The Volume On His Electric Guitar While Playing The Style Laid Down Earlier By Erwin Short.  All Of  Ernest Tubb Records Sold 300,000 & Up From 1940 To 1950.  (His Records Were Also Getting Their Share Of The Nickles On The 150,000 Juke Boxes Across The U.S.)  Ernest Was #2 In The Forties Top 10 Behind Eddy Arnold.  Only Bing Was Outselling Ernest Tubb On Decca But Not By Much.  Ernest Had The Only Hit On "Blue Christmas" #1 In 1949. (Elvis' Version Never Charted)  E.T Was Born In Crisp, Texas (A Town That Has Since Pretty Much Disappeared From The Map).  Ernest Tubb, The Big Daddy Of Modern Country Music, Was Inducted Into Both The Country Music Hall Of Fame & The Songwriter Hall of Fame In Nashville.

"I'm Just Driftwood On The River Drifting Down The Tide, And I Don't Care Where This Old River Carries Me"...E. T. On The Beautiful Concho River Down Town San Angelo In !939 Or 40. (Besides San Angelo ET Resided In Midland, Brownwood, Anson & Haskell)

Visit the Ernest Tubb Record Shop Online