"Til a Tear Becomes a Rose" is a song originally recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist Leon Everette. It was released in 1985 from his album ''Where's the Fire''. His version of the song peaked at number 44 on

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

. The song was later covered by Keith Whitley as a duet with his wife

Lorrie Morgan Loretta Lynn Morgan (born June 27, 1959) is an American country music singer and actress. She is the daughter of George Morgan, widow of Keith Whitley, and ex-wife of Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw, all of whom are also country music singers. Mo ...

. Posthumously released in July 1990, it was the only single from his ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' album. This version peaked at number 13 on the country singles charts and won the Vocal Event of the Year at the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

awards. Another version was released in 1990 by

Jann Browne Jann Browne (born March 14, 1954 in Anderson, Indiana) is an American country music singer. She moved to Southern California in 1978 where she performed in a number of Orange County country bars. From 1981 through 1983, before her solo career, she ...

on her album '' Tell Me Why''. John Prine and Fiona Whelan Prine also covered the song for the 1999 album ''

In Spite of Ourselves ''In Spite of Ourselves'' is the 13th studio album of John Prine, featuring duets with various well-known women folk and alt-country vocalists, released in 1999. The album was Prine's first release since successfully battling throat cancer. The ...

''. In 2015, a version of the song was released by singer Kevin Moon and Bluegrass artist

Rhonda Vincent Rhonda Lea Vincent (born July 13, 1962) is an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Vincent's music career began when she was a child in her family's band The Sally Mountain Show, and it has spanned more than four de ...

for Moon's ''Throwback'' CD.

Chart performance

Leon Everette

Keith Whitley with Lorrie Morgan

References

1985 singles 1990 singles Leon Everette songs Jann Browne songs Keith Whitley songs Lorrie Morgan songs Songs written by Bill Rice Songs written by Sharon Vaughn Male–female vocal duets Song recordings produced by Garth Fundis RCA Records singles Mercury Records singles Songs released posthumously 1985 songs {{1990-country-song-stub