"Don't Cry Sister" is a song written and first recorded by American folk and bluegrass guitarist

J. J. Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Neil Young, Mark Knopf ...

for his 1979 studio album '' 5''. The original version of the tune of two minute and fifteen seconds duration is written in the

musical key In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in Western classical music, jazz music, art music, and pop music. A particular key features a '' tonic (main) note'' and i ...

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Cha ...

. It gained new success in 2006, when

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

recorded the song. From 1984 until 2004, the song appeared on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s ''Special Edition'' (1984, Island), ''Best of J. J. Cale'' (1993, Island), ''Anyway the Wind Blows: The Anthology'' (1997, Island), ''The Definitive Collection'' (1998, Island), ''Classic J.J. Cale: The Universal Masters Collection'' (1999,

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

), ''20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of J.J. Cale'' (2002, Universal), ''Singers And Songwriters: Pure & Simple'' (2003,

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

), and ''The Ultimate Collection'' (2004, Universal). In 2006, Cale recorded the song along with

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

rock musician Eric Clapton for their collaborative effort ''

The Road to Escondido ''The Road to Escondido'' is a collaborative studio album by J. J. Cale and Eric Clapton. It was released on 7 November 2006. Contained on this album are the final recordings of keyboardist Billy Preston. The album is jointly dedicated to Pre ...

'' which went on to become a global

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

-selling release. While the publications ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'', ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'', and ''Glide Magazine'' highly praised the new interpretation of the song, ''Twisted Ear'' called the version "terrible". A live version of their recording appeared in 2016 on the album '' Live in San Diego''. In total, the song was released on over 20 albums.

References

1975 songs Eric Clapton songs J. J. Cale songs Songs written by J. J. Cale Blues songs {{Blues-song-stub