Country musician Ernest Tubb was known for many things. The father of honky tonk music (which later would be referred to as country music), Tubb was the first to introduce the electric guitar to the Grand Ole Opry.
But what has stood the test of time, even long after his death in 1984, was the record store he opened in 1947. That is, until now.
Last Wednesday night, among the potpourri of noisy celebrity haunts of Music City’s Broadway, Ernest Tubb’s historic record store closed its doors for the last time.
Contained within the narrow space lived “The Midnite Jamboree,” a show almost as old as the record store itself. Known to host a live audience after the Grand Ole Opry, featuring new country blood, the show became the second-longest-running country radio show in history, and still exists today.
Fans of all ages came out for one last “Jamboree” celebration. They stood among the faded artifacts and empty record bins that once held the hits of country legends and brought to life the first major all-country record store.
But like country music, Nashville’s Broadway continues to change. Seventy-five years after Ernest Tubb first opened this unique vinyl shop, visitors still come to Nashville looking for a good time.
But sadly, that doesn’t involve shopping for records.
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Story produced by Roman Feeser.
