Bill Lister

"Big Bill" Lister (January 5, 1923 – December 1, 2009) was an American honky tonk country music singer. Born Weldon E. Lister, he was nicknamed "Radio's Tallest Singing Cowboy," standing over 6-foot-7 without his cowboy boots and hat.

Life and career During most of 1951, he traveled with Hank Williams, Sr., as the opening act for Williams and his "Drifting Cowboys." As a regular performer on the Grand Ole Opry thereafter, Lister worked with most of the stars of the day, including Little Jimmy Dickens, String Bean, Minnie Pearl, Del Wood, The Carter Family, and others. He was also a recording artist for both Everstate and Capitol Records. He is best known for his ties to Williams' song "There's a Tear in My Beer." Lister recorded the song in 1951, after Williams gave him a demo recording that he realized his record producer would not permit him to record professionally. Nearly four decades later, Lister's wife found the old demo recording in their attic. Shortly after their discovery, Lister gave the recording to Williams' son, Hank Williams, Jr., who soon recorded an overdubbed version of the song in 1988, in which father and son seemed to be singing together (some 40 years apart). In 1989, the dual recording peaked at #7 on Billboard's Hot 100s country chart, as well as a Grammy Award and a Country Music Association Award. recorded for Capitol Records in 1951.

Big Bill Lister's return to commercial recording came in 1983 with the album "Sho' 'Nuff Country Stuff! (The Second Time Around)," produced for Slim Richey's Tex-Grass label by D. Lee Thomas and Michael H. Price, with accompaniment by the Salt Lick Foundation, a Texas string band that includes Lister's nephew, Harris Kirby. Lister performed extensively during 1983 in Dallas and Fort Worth with the Salt Lick Foundation and with Michael H. Price and Slim Richey's jazz ensemble, Diddy Wah Diddy.

Discography Year Album Label 1983 Sho' 'Nuff Country Stuff! (The Second Time Around) Tex-Grass Records 1999 There's a Tear in My Beer Bear Family 2004 Remembering Hank Williams Heart of Texas