As the rock ‘n’ roll era began, Tubb had less impact on the music charts and as a concert draw. He even covered rhythm and blues material, scoring country hits with Chuck Berry’s “Thirty Days (To Come Back Home)” and the Chuck Willis pop hit “What Am I Living For.” He would transition from an auditorium solo star to working on package shows and, in the 1960’s, moving into the dance hall and club environment. He had his last major hits with the 1963 #3 country single “Thanks A Lot” and 1964’s “Mr. and Mrs. Used to Be,” the latter a cross generational duet with Loretta Lynn that peaked at #11. “Waltz Across Texas” was a minor radio hit in 1965, but has had an extended shelf life as a Lone Star state standard.
Tubb stopped drinking and smoking in the 1960s and continued to perform until 1982. A legal separation from his second wife created significant financial complications for Tubb during his later years. Despite maintaining separate households for years, he never filed for divorce nor left a proper will before his death in 1984. One unintended consequence from the self-inflicted loose ends was that his widow refused to pay for a headstone – Tubb was laid to rest in an unmarked grave from 1984 until the situation was resolved, after the death of his ex-wife, in 1999. Hell hath no fury.
Tubb’s musical minimalism and low singing register served as an inspiration to Johnny Cash, among others, but Tubb was much more of a niche artist than Cash. He sang without irony, without wordplay, conveying simple truths and universal emotional sentiments. His lack of a traditional good voice gave the superstar an everyman quality. He was a no frills, genre creating formalist. Ernest Tubb was to honky-tonk what the Ramones were to punk.