Released January 1989 Recorded 1950, 1988 Length 2:51 | Format CD, 7" Genre Country, blues | |
B-side "You Brought Me Down to Earth" | ||
"There's a Tear in My Beer" is a country song written and recorded by Hank Williams, and later re-recorded by his son in 1988.
Contents
Original version
The original version was written and recorded by Hank Williams during one of his Nashville sessions in 1950-51, but he decided against releasing it. It was not until many years later, in 1989, that the original song would get its first official release. The song was recorded by Bill Lister, who later gave the demo by Hank Williams to Hank's son.
1988 version
Hank Williams Jr.'s version is a duet with his father created using electronic merging technology. As the song had been previously recorded with Hank Williams playing the guitar as the sole instrument, his son and his band simply "filled in the blanks" and recorded additional vocals. The music video for the song combined television footage that had existed of Hank Williams performing, onto which electronic merging technology impressed the recordings of Hank Jr., which then made it appear as if he were playing with his father. The video was both a critical and commercial success, and was named Video Of The Year by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. Hank Williams, Sr. & Jr., would go on to "share" a Grammy award win in 1990 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.
Music video
The music video was directed by Ethan Russell and premiered in early 1989. In the video, Hank Williams Jr. performs the song by himself in an old house on a stormy night. After the first chorus, he hears vocals coming from behind a door near him. He then opens the door to discover his father, Hank Williams Sr., playing the song with his band (from old footage of a performance). At the end of the video, Hank Jr. walks through the door and magically appears by his father's side to finish the song together.