Background
Ruby was born on a ranch in Wise County, Texas, near Decatur.
Ruby was born on a ranch in Wise County, Texas, near Decatur.
Her career began when a Kansas City radio station owner heard her sing in Fort Worth, Texas. In early 1937, she recorded for Decca Records. Later that year, she met Curly Fox in Fort Worth.
Ruby was dubbed "radio"s original cowgirl".
Her best-known song, "Don"t Let That Manitoba Get You Down" predates Loretta Lynn"s famous stand-up-to-your-man hits by twenty years. This sassy persona was adopted on most of Ruby"s recordings, "Ain"t You Sorry That You Lied" and "You"ve Been Cheating on Maine", songs perhaps too trailblazing to have been record hits in that very conservative era of country music
Most of Texas Ruby"s recordings were done for the King Records and Columbia Records labels. Her first sessions were for Decca Records in 1937.
The Foxes left the Opry and in late 1948 moved to Texas, where most of their concert dates were.
The move seemed to push national stardom further away from the duo, who in the early 1960s moved first to Los Angeles (appearing on the Town Hall Party country music television series) and then back to Nashville in attempts to return to the limelight. Fox, widely considered one of country music"s greatest fiddlers, worked the Opry more frequently as background instrumentalist than as a star. As he was appearing on the Opry on March 29, 1963, Ruby was killed in a fire at home.
lieutenant was the most grim month in Opry history as Ruby was the fifth Grand Ole Opry star to die that month, following Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas, and Jack Anglin.
Fox was reinstated as an official Grand Ole Opry member shortly afterward but he retired by 1970. Ruby was the sister of Tex Owens, who composed Eddy Arnold"s hit "The Cattle Call.".
The couple was invited to be members of The Opry in the late 1930s.
