Freddy Fender: Lovin' Tex-Mex Style

1. Before The Next Teardrop Falls*
2. Mathilda*
3. Lovin’ Cajun Style*
4. What I’d Say**
5. Sweet Summer Day**
6. Silver Wings**
7. Running Back**
8. Enter My Heart**
9. Going Out With The Tide**
10. Baby I Want To Love You**
11. Wasted Days And Wasted Nights*
12. The Rains Came*
13. You’ll Lose A Good Thing*
14. Almost Persuaded**
15. I’m Leaving It Up To You**
16. A Man Can Cry**
17. Wild Side Of Life*
18. She’s About A Mover**
19. Crazy Baby**

The Girl Who Waits On Tables**

*Recorded live

**Studio recording

In 1974, record producer Huey P. Meaux approached Fender about overdubbing vocals for an instrumental track. Fender agreed, performing the song bilingually—singing the first verse in English, then repeating it in Spanish. That track was the #1 crossover hit “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.”

“The recording only took a few minutes,” Fender told an interviewer. “I was glad to get it over with, and I thought that would be the last of it.”

“Before the Next Teardrop Falls” immediately took off in popularity when released to country radio stations in January, 1975 on Dot Records. The song rose to #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in March, spending two weeks atop the chart. Amazingly, the song caught on just as strongly on Top 40 radio stations, and it wasn’t long before Fender had a #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit as well. Billboard ranked “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” as the No. 4 song for 1975, beating out massive hits including “Fame” by David Bowie, “One of These Nights” by The Eagles, and “Lady Marmalade” by Labelle.

"Lovin’ Tex-Mex Style" is a mixture of live and alternate studio recordings by one of the ’70s most successful artists. Freddy Fender’s success with “Before The Next Teardrop Falls” and “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights,” both featured here live, made him a Super Star in the pop, country and Tejano music scenes.