"Wall of Tears" is a song written by Richard Leigh and Peter McCann. It was 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

Gus Hardin Gus Hardin (born Carolyn Ann Blankenship; April 9, 1945 – February 17, 1996) was a country music singer. Career Hardin was born in 1945 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her rise to country music popularity began in 1983 with her first single for RCA Recor ...

and was the title track of her 1984 album. The song was also recorded by American country music artist

K. T. Oslin Kay Toinette Oslin (May 15, 1942 – December 21, 2020) was an American country music singer-songwriter. She had several years of major commercial success in the late 1980s after signing a record deal at age 45. Oslin had four number one hits and ...

. It was released in December 1986 as the first single from Oslin's album ''

80's Ladies ''80's Ladies'' is the debut studio album by American country music artist K. T. Oslin. It was released by RCA Records in July 1987. "Wall of Tears", the title track, "Do Ya'" and "I'll Always Come Back" were released as singles. The album reached ...

''. The song reached #40 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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 ...

chart.

Background and release

"Wall of Tears" was co-written by Nashville songwriters, Richard Leigh and Peter McCann. Its first known version was recorded by Gus Hardin in the summer of 1984. Hardin's session took place at the Music Mill recording studio, which was located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. The song's recording was produced by Mark Wright. He would serve as Hardin's producer for the eventual album the song was included on. The song was eventually released as an album track following the release of the album. Hardin's album was named after the song and was never released as a single. On the original vinyl record, "Wall of Tears," was included as the second song on "side two" of the project.

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

of ''Wall of Tears'' by Gus Hardin. Musical personnel * Eddie Bayers –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Barry Beckett –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Kathy Burdick – background vocals * Kim Fleming – background vocals *

Emory Gordy, Jr. Emory Lee Gordy Jr. (born December 25, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter and music producer. A former member of Emmylou Harris' backing band The Hot Band, he is best known for his association with country singer Patty Loveless, to whom h ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Gus Hardin – lead vocals * Shane Keister –

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

* Dave Loggins – background vocals * Jay Dee Manners –

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

* Brent Rowan – guitar * Jim Scaife – background vocals * Wendy Weldman – background vocals * Mark Wright – background vocals, producer

K. T. Oslin version

Background and content

In 1982, K. T. Oslin had originally recorded two singles with

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

, both of which were unsuccessful. She was ultimately dropped from the label, but gained a second recording contract with

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

in 1986. It was at RCA that Oslin would have her biggest commercial success as a country artist. Oslin would record "Wall of Tears" in her first studio session with RCA. The session was produced by Jim Cotton and Joe Scaife. It took place at the Music Mill Studio, in October 1986. The track "Old Pictures" was also cut at the same session.

Release and reception

"Wall of Tears" was released as a single via RCA Victor Records in December 1986. It would be her first RCA release. It was distributed as a seven inch single, with the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

being "Two Hearts Are Better Than You." The song spent 15 weeks on the ''

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 ...

chart between 1986 and 1987. By February 1987, the single had climbed to number 40 on the country chart. "Wall of Tears" became Oslin's second charting single and her first to break into the top 40. Her next single, "

," would be her first major hit. "Wall of Tears" would later be released on Oslin's debut studio album, which was also titled ''

.'' The album was released in 1987 and the song was the album's opening track. In discussing the album's material, Rodney Batdorf of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

noted Oslin's style, which included her sound on "Wall of Tears": "K.T. Oslin established a new voice in country music -- that of an upscale, middle-aged divorcee, trying to cope with the turmoils with life."

Track listings

7" vinyl single * "Wall of Tears" – 3:40 * "Two Hearts Are Better Than You" – 4:43

Chart performance

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''80's Ladies.'' Musical personnel *K. T. Oslin – keyboards, lead vocals, backing vocals * David Briggs – keyboards *Gary Prim – keyboards *Costo Davis – synthesizer *Bruce Dees – electric guitar *Steve Gibson – electric guitar * Brent Rowan – acoustic guitar, electric guitar *Mike Brignardello – bass guitar *Larry Paxton – bass guitar * Eddie Bayers – drums *

Larrie Londin Ralph Gallant (October 15, 1943 − August 24, 1992), better known by the stage name Larrie Londin, was an American drummer and session musician. According to journalist James Byron Fox, "If not the best known, Larrie is one of the most listene ...

– drums * James Stroud – drums *Sam Levine –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

* Terry McMillan –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

*Joe Scaife – backing vocals

References

{{K. T. Oslin 1984 songs 1986 singles Gus Hardin songs K. T. Oslin songs RCA Victor singles Song recordings produced by Mark Wright (record producer) Songs written by Richard Leigh (songwriter) Songs written by Peter McCann