Ernest Tubb: The Definitive Collection

A catalyzing figure in early country music, Ernest Tubb is the missing link between the country yodels of Jimmie Rodgers and the hard honky-tonk of Hank Williams. Tubb’s recording career spanned more than forty years, and dozens of albums, and it is impossible for a single disc to encapsulate him, but The Definitive Collection covers all the high points, from his signature 1941 hit “Walking the Floor Over You” to “Sweet Thang,” a sassy 1967 duet with Loretta Lynn. Between those two songs country music changed immensely, but Tubb stayed the same. He had a Texan’s groundedness when it came to adapting to trends. The Tubb philosophy was simple: keep the songwriting solid and the band outstanding and everything will work out just fine. Listeners raised on the histrionic singing of modern country superstars might have a hard time adjusting to Tubb’s laconic Texas drawl, which can sometimes seem timid and off-key. Yet it was precisely Tubb’s unassuming vocals and gentle sense of swing that made him country’s humblest and most enduring everyman.