Roots
At the age of six, Billy Lister was already finding his way to the stage—standing on a milk crate in his bedroom, performing original songs to an audience of stuffed animals. Even then, he imagined himself following in the footsteps of his father and his grandfather, Big Bill Lister, a Grand Ole Opry performer whose influence helped shape the musical path Billy would grow into.
Growing up, Billy was surrounded by music of all kinds, but country was always at the center. He spent hours listening and absorbing the sounds that defined the genre, while hearing firsthand stories from his grandad’s days touring the country—playing alongside Hank Williams Sr. and The Drifting Cowboys. Those stories didn’t just shape his taste—they gave him a living connection to the roots of country music and the life behind it.
By the age of eleven, that imagination became reality. Billy picked up the bass guitar and began playing alongside his dad and granddad—three generations sharing the same stage, bound by a love of music and storytelling.
As the years went on, what started as playing along turned into something deeper. Billy began writing songs of his own—pulling from real moments, late nights, and the kind of emotions you don’t always say out loud. His songwriting evolved into a voice that was distinctly his: honest, raw, and rooted in feeling.
Those early shows became the foundation for everything that followed—shaping not just his sound, but his identity as an artist grounded in tradition, yet driven to push beyond it and create something entirely his own.
A Legacy of Country Music
In 1952, Billy’s grandfather, Big Bill Lister, signed with Capitol Records and found himself in need of a true beer-drinking song. Hank Williams Sr. had one.
Hank recorded “There’s a Tear in My Beer” on a simple acetate disc and handed it to Big Bill so he could learn it. Not long after, Big Bill recorded his own version—then tucked the original acetate away in a box, where it was forgotten for decades.
Years later, in the 1980s, while cleaning out the attic, Billy’s grandparents came across that same box of old recordings. Big Bill nearly threw it out—but his Grandmother, Lila, insisted they listen first. Inside was the acetate: the only known recording of Hank Williams Sr. ever singing “There’s a Tear in My Beer.”
In 1989, Big Bill passed the recording on to Hank Williams Jr.. That discovery led to the creation of the iconic duet version of the song, where Hank Jr. performed alongside his father—bringing a lost piece of country music history back to life.