The Monster Hit of Ernest Tubb, ‘Walking the Floor Over You’

Many people would argue that the time of ‘real country’ has already passed as soon as the likes of Ernest Tubb has left this world to meet the creator. With that being said, people often overlook the roots of originality and how a certain genre of music has started. Few people would know that Ernest Tubb dubbed as the Texas Troubadour is a legend in his own right even before he made a couple of duets with Loretta Lynn. His song, ‘Walking the Floor Over You’ marked the rise of honky tonk style of music that lead to the different songs that we enjoy up until today. He is also the first country artist to have a hit version of ‘Blue Christmas,’ a song that is sometimes unfairly being associated too much to Elvis Presley.

Ernest Tubb, Walking the Floor Over You

Like many great singers and songwriters in the country music, Ernest Tubb penned ‘Walking the Floor Over You’ and it was released in the United States in 1941. It is also ‘the song’ that was first accompanied by electric guitar marking Tubb as the first country artist to use one in his songs. Hence, this artistic move changed the face of country music forever.

The original version of ‘Walking the Floor Over You’ was only powered by Tubb’s pure vocals, an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar by ‘Smitty’ Smith. The original version proved to be a hit as it sold a million copies and critics were quick to realize that it’s a honky tonk music that launched itself. If you are one of those people who watched the Coal Miner’s Daughter in 1980, you sure have heard the original version of the soundtrack.

Ernest Tubb re-recorded the acclaimed song many times. In 1979, he even recorded a version of the song this time to share a duet with another legend, Merle Haggard.

Watch his recorded live version below: