Tubb Family Starts Petition To Keep Ernest Tubb Record Shop Open; 10,000 Signatures So Far

Sign & Marquee From 2020 (Photo: Eric Glenn / Shutterstock.com)

In an effort to keep NASHVILLE’s historic ERNEST TUBB RECORD SHOP open, the family of the late COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME member, who launched the store in 1947, has started a petition that has gathered more than 10,000 signatures, so far. It was announced FRIDAY (3/11) that the record shop, located on NASHVILLE's Lower Broadway, would be closing its doors this SPRING (NET NEWS 3/14).

TUBB’s great-great nephew, COLTON GIBSON, told NASHVILLE TV station WKRN, “Just like everybody that’s lived here a long time, I’ve been seeing NASHVILLE slowly change a lot over the recent years. The record shop is just about the last piece of old Broadway and old NASHVILLE that’s left down here, and it would just be a real shame to let it go.”

The petition reads, “For over seven decades, the ERNEST TUBB RECORD SHOP has been an institution in Country music. From its opening [in the Broadway location] in 1951 until 1995, and again beginning in 2021, the ERNEST TUBB RECORD SHOP was the site of the MIDNITE JAMBOREE. Every SATURDAY night, the MIDNITE JAMBOREE would air on WSM-FM immediately after the GRAND OLE OPRY. Stars of the OPRY would perform on the show; it also provided a venue for up-and-coming artists, many of whom went on to become major stars. Among these artists were JOHNNY CASH, THE WILBURN BROTHERS, LORETTA LYNN, TANYA TUCKER, GARTH BROOKS, and even a young ELVIS PRESLEY. The MIDNITE JAMBOREE is now the second longest-running radio program in history, second only to the OPRY.

"We are now met with the tragic news that this institution, which is extremely important to the history of Country music, is permanently closing its doors," the petition continued. "We cannot let this happen. The ERNEST TUBB RECORD SHOP is one of our only remaining direct connections to the golden age of Country music. If it closes, ask yourself what we will have left. Not very much. If you love Country music and want to preserve its history, please sign this petition to preserve the historic ERNEST TUBB RECORD SHOP as it is.”

To sign the family’s petition, click here.

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