Tear-Stained Letter
| "Tear-Stained Letter" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Richard Thompson | ||||
| from the album Hand of Kindness | ||||
| B-side | "Where the Wind Don't Whine" | |||
| Released | May 1984 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, zydeco | |||
| Length | 4:40 | |||
| Label | Hannibal Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Richard Thompson | |||
| Producer(s) | Joe Boyd | |||
| Richard Thompson singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Tear-Stained Letter" is the opening track from Richard Thompson's 1983 album Hand of Kindness. The song has been recorded by others, notably a hit version by Jo-El Sonnier in 1988.
Content
With a strong zydeco feel, the song's length is 4 minutes and 44 seconds. The main riff is performed on saxophones by Pete Thomas and Pete Zorn, who also performs the background vocals, and on accordion by John Kirkpatrick. The coda features a duet between a sax solo, accordion solo, and guitar solo by Richard Thompson.
The song is in the key of G major, with a fast tempo in 4/4 time. It uses a chord pattern of E7-A-E7-A-D-G on the verses, and B7-C-D-G twice on the chorus.[1]
Jo-El Sonnier version
| "Tear-Stained Letter" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Jo-El Sonnier | ||||
| from the album Come On Joe | ||||
| B-side | "Say You Love Me"[2] | |||
| Released | July 1988 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 4:17 | |||
| Label | RCA Nashville | |||
| Writer(s) | Richard Thompson | |||
| Producer(s) | Richard Bennett, Bill Halverson[3] | |||
| Jo-El Sonnier singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Country music singer Jo-El Sonnier covered the song on his 1988 album Come On Joe. His version was released as a single in 1988, reaching number nine on the Hot Country Songs charts.[2] Kenny Greenberg plays lead guitar on Sonnier's version.[3] Actor Judge Reinhold appears in the music video for the song.
Chart performance
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 9[2] |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 6[4] |
Other versions
Patty Loveless covered the song on her 1996 album The Trouble with the Truth.
Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes covered the song on their 2005 album 'Into the Harbour'
References
- ↑ "'Tear Stained Letter' sheet music". MusicNotes.com. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- 1 2 3 Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 393. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
- 1 2 Come On Joe (Cassette insert). Jo-El Sonnier. RCA Records. 1988. 6374-4-R.
- ↑ "Country Tracks". RPM. 15 October 1988. Retrieved 6 May 2011.