"Big Bill" Lister died he was 86

"Big Bill" Lister died he was 86. Lester 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.^[1][2]

(January 5, 1923 – December 1, 2009)

For several years in the 1950s, he sang with Hank Williams, Sr., as a member of Williams' "Drifting Cowboys Band," after Williams had fired most of the original members of the band. Lister is best known for his ties to Williams' song "There's a Tear in My Beer." Lister recorded the song in the 1950s, after being given a demo recording by Williams. Years later, after his wife found the old demo recording in their attic, he gave the recording to Williams' son, Hank Williams, Jr. Junior went on to record an overdubbed version of the song in 1988, in which (late) father and son sang together, some 40 years apart. That recording won a Grammy Award and a Country Music Association (CMA) Award in 1990.^[1]

Other Lister recordings included "RC Cola and a Moon Pie," recorded for Capitol Records in 1961.^[2]

Lister, who toured as one of Hank Williams' Drifting Cowboys and was dubbed "Radio's Tallest Singing Cowboy," died he was 86.

He died in San Antonio after a brief illness. His family said Lister was performing nightly for crowds of 300-plus on a cruise from Galveston to the Caribbean until just a few months ago.