Born 91 Years Ago in Texas, the Songwriter Son of a Country Legend Whose Songs Were Recorded by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Loretta Lynn, and George Jones

August 20, 2026, 2:15pm

On this day (August 20) in 1935, Justin Tubb was born in San Antonio, Texas. He was the oldest son of Ernest Tubb and his wife, Elaine. Tubb began performing as a child, making his Grand Ole Opry debut before he reached his teens. Later, he found moderate success as a recording artist. However, he was more successful as a songwriter. Tubb penned songs that became hits for a long line of Nashville greats, including Del Reeves and Hawkshaw Hawkins.

As the son of a country legend, Tubb started performing early. He began performing on the San Angelo, Texas-based KGKL when he was four years old. He made his Grand Ole Opry debut when he was only nine. He didn’t stick with it, though. In fact, he nearly had an entirely different career.

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According to the Texas State Historical Association, Tubb enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin in 1952. There, he worked toward a degree in journalism. However, he eventually formed a band and began playing venues in the Austin area. Before long, his grades started to dip, and he had to make a choice. Ultimately, he chose to drop out of college and get into the family business.

Unlike some young artists whose parents are established artists, Tubb did all he could to separate himself from his father. He didn’t want to ride the Texas Troubadour’s coattails into country stardom. Instead, he wanted to know he earned any success he had.

Justin Tubb Goes to Nashville

By the time he moved to Nashville, he was already writing songs. He was able to perform some of his original compositions on the air after landing a disc jockey job at WHIN, which was based in Gallatin, Tennessee, not far from Nashville. Those on-air performances led to a deal with Decca. However, his early singles didn’t see much success.

Tubb’s first charting single was “Looking Back to See,” a duet with Goldie Hill. It peaked at No. 4 in 1954 and remained his highest-charting single. He notched two more hits as a recording artist. “I Gotta Go Get My Baby” reached No. 8 in 1955. “Take a Letter, Miss Gray” peaked at No. 6 in 1963.

A year after he and Hill scored their first hit, Tubb became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. There, he found an audience for his traditional country sound long after more pop-leaning tracks dominated the country chart.

Success As a Songwriter

Justin Tubb wrote several songs that became hits for other artists. Moreover, some of those songs became classics and have been recorded by multiple generations of artists. Below is a list of highlights from his catalog.