First recorded by Duane Dee (C&W #44 1968).
Also recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis (1969).
Other hit versions by Linda Martell (C&W #33 1970), Freddy Fender (US #1/C&W #1 1975).
From the wiki: “‘Before the Next Teardrop Falls’ was written in the late 1960s by Vivian Keith and Ben Peters, and had been recorded more than two dozen times – achieving modest success in versions by various performers (the original version by Duane Dee reached #44 on the Billboard country chart in early 1968; Linda Martell sent her version to #33 in early 1970) before becoming a chart-topping hit for Freddy Fender.
“In 1974, record producer Huey P Meaux approached Fender about overdubbing vocals for an instrumental track. Fender agreed, performing the song bilingual style — singing the first verse in English, then repeating the verse in Spanish. ‘The recording only took a few minutes,”‘Fender once told an interviewer. ‘I was glad to get it over with and I thought that would be the last of it.’
“However, ‘Before the Next Teardrop Falls’ immediately took off in popularity when released to country radio in January 1975. The song ascended to #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in March, spending two weeks atop the chart. It wasn’t long before Fender had a #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit as well.
“Note: ‘Before the Next Teardrop Falls’ was one of six songs released in 1975 that topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Country Singles charts. The others were ‘(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song’ by B.J. Thomas; ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ by Glen Campbell; ‘Thank God I’m a Country Boy’ and the two-sided hit ‘I’m Sorry’/’Calypso’ by John Denver; and ‘Convoy’ by C.W. McCall.”
Jerry Lee Lewis, “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” (1969):
Linda Martell, “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” (1970):
Freddy Fender, “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” (1974):