# This 1975 Hit Single Was Recorded by Two Country Icons Before Becoming a No. 1 Track for Someone Else in 1974

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/this-1975-hit-single-was-recorded-by-two-country-icons-before-becoming-a-no-1-track-for-someone-else-in-1974/
- Published: 2026-11-02T17:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T01:38:49+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/this-1975-hit-single-was-recorded-by-two-country-icons-before-becoming-a-no-1-track-for-someone-else-in-1974/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Fender’s bilingual recording became a 1975 No. 1 hit.
- Charley Pride and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded it earlier.
- The song won Fender the CMA Single of the Year award.

## Summary

Freddy Fender made “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” a major hit in 1975, helping launch his solo career after he was asked to record a demo. His bilingual version reached No. 1 and remains among his best-known songs.

Charley Pride had recorded the song in 1967 and Jerry Lee Lewis in 1970, but neither released a hit version. Fender’s recording topped both the country chart and the Billboard Hot 100, earned him a Grammy nomination and won the CMA Single of the Year award. His success led many other artists to cover it, and he scored two more two-week No. 1 hits in 1975.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.