Yesterday morning, as I always do, I logged onto Facebook
first thing. It’s part of a daily ritual – to see what the news stories of the
day are, and to see who is upset with who politically. Before I got too far
into my feed, I saw a picture of the Music Valley location of the Ernest Tubb
Record Shop. Over the past thirty years, I have probably spent more time at
that store than any other location. The caption under the picture talked about
the fact that store owner David McCormick had made the decision to close the
store this week.
Ernest Tubb Record Shop…..Closed.
Now, there is still the oldest location – down on Broadway.
But, this was a jolt to my system. Since a fateful night in the spring of 1986 –
which I will be writing about soon – I probably have spent more time at the
Music Valley location of the Tubb franchise. As a country music fan who has
always been slanted toward traditional sounds, it was the ultimate candy store.
You could find releases of artists that you would never see anywhere else. It
truthfully served as a place of education for me.
And, I have to admit – more than any other place, I probably
spent more of my money there than anywhere else, too. Especially after going to
work at WDKN in 1991 – and becoming Music Director there in 1994 – I loved playing
music that you wouldn’t get anywhere else. A running joke of mine on the air
over the years was that at Christmas – “For that favorite morning radio
personality at 106 East College Street on your Christmas list, don’t forget
gift certificates from the Ernest Tubb Record Shop. They make the perfect
stocking stuffer.” Believe it or not, that actually worked. Many of my friends –
who were listeners of the station would send me gift certificates. Christmas
was a fun time of the year – and one that I loved going to the Tubb store to
pick up those rare obscurities that WSM didn’t even play – in regular rotation.
As the years went on, record stores began to fall one by one.
Camelot. Record Bar. Seeing Tower Records’ location being replaced by Nashville’s
34,546th motel still pains me. But, Ernest Tubb kept plodding along.
A couple of years ago, however, one could feel the cracks slipping into the
foundation. The inventory and selection were reduced drastically, making it
hard for the store to thrive as they had in the past. Of course, my visits to
the store became a little less frequent, as well. There just wasn’t much to
look at. Still, knowing that one of my favorite musical haunts is gone stings….a
lot.
As I said, the Broadway store is still open…for now. Unless
they are doing a special promotion for a new release – like they did with
George Strait or Vince Gill’s new releases – the shelves are pretty much a
quarter of the way stocked. Not counting their mail order department – which probably
keeps them in business – it’s possible to walk into the store, and not find a
copy of George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today” – likely one of the most
iconic songs to ever be recorded in this town. You also see a number of used
books and magazines. I hope the store continues,….but perhaps the writing is on
the wall.
In any case, it’s a sad thing to know that the store is
closed. It’s a place that I will miss….a lot, along with those years I would go
there – sometimes simply to get lost. As Bob Wills once put it, “Time Changes
Everything.” But, I wasn’t ready for this……
