Spun #9

Ernest and Justin Tubb
"Sing Jimmie Rodgers' Favorites"
Decca ED 2422

Doing a bit of mathematics with dates from the liner notes (written by Jimmie's widow), this record seems to be from 1956. At that time Ernest Tubb was one of the best and most popular country musicians in the country, and his son Justin was trying to follow in his father's footsteps. Turns out dad had rather large shoes to fill, and the son was destined for obscurity. I'd never heard of him before finding this extended play 45.

He didn't necessarily deserve his fate; his two songs on the B side are perfectly acceptable. "Desert Blues" is an uptempo and light-hearted story of a buffalo and his dead brother, and at one point you can hear Justin chuckling his way through the lyrcs. I prefer his version of "Miss the Mississippi...," which preserves a little bit of Jimmie's melancholy, with some nice atmospheric pedal steel and shimmery fiddle playing. It doesn't necessarily remind me of my own youth growing up near that river, but there is some sort of tug on the heartstrings.

From Mrs. Jimmie's liner notes: "When I first met Ernest in 1934, I was impressed not only by the similarity of his voice to that of Jimmie Rodgers, but by the man himself and his devotion to "America's Blue Yodeler." His personality and character, plus his ability both as a singer and songwriter, made it quite evident that here was a man who would succeed. I decided to help him attain that goal, in whatever way I could. And I gave him Jimmie's beloved Martin guitar to use, the guitar Ernest still treasures and uses today."

Listen to Ernest singing Jimmie's songs and strumming Jimmie's guitar.