“I’ve been such a fan of songwriters all my life and am always struck by how people go to great lengths to write really incredible songs,” Trevino explains. “So, when it came time to record this album, I picked ones that I thought were lyrically strong and would shine through in an acoustic setting. I hope that people will really take in these lyrics and appreciate the craftsmanship that went into them.”
“One Tear at a Time” includes “She Knows My Weaknesses” by Kent Finlay, “one of the prettiest love songs I’ve ever heard and I just knew an acoustic treatment would work for it,” three songs by Trevino and three by Bill Anderson (“Ride About Now,” “I Don’t Have Anyplace to Go” and the bonus track, “I Think I’ll Go Somewhere and Cry Myself to Sleep”). “I had cut that song 21 years ago but never released it,” Trevino recalls. “But when I went into the studio to make the acoustic version I quickly realized that I really wanted to put the original one out, even though it was with a full band.” Anderson also gave Trevino a new song, “Right About Now,” reflecting the spirit of the album.
Trevino also recorded “What if the Tables Were Turned,” which he originally wrote for one of his heroes, Curtis Potter. “He passed away before he got to cut the song, so I did my level best to honor him and sing it like he would have.” “Jealously Insane” is a tribute to another key figure in Trevino’s life, Johnny Bush. “He wrote ‘Jealously Insane’ years ago, but it originally only had a verse and chorus. In recent years, he had written a second verse but never got to record it before he passed in 2020. I’m probably the only person besides him that knows those new lyrics and felt it was my duty to preserve this for him and not let them get lost to the sands of time. Being able to record this new verse is incredibly special to me.”
The collection also features a bluegrass song, “Windy City” with Dana Cupp on banjo, and the original demo version of the title track, “One Tear at a Time.” “I wrote that with Guyanne McCall back in 2005 and at the time I was so into it when I cut the demo that Guyanne said, ‘my goodness, you are singing your tail off.’ I still love that version, so rather than redo it, I added the original recording to the new album.”
“This will probably be the only album that I do with this acoustic treatment and is a real bucket list project for me,” he explains, “and I filled it with my go-to songs, the ones I’d play if somebody just put a guitar in my hands and said ‘go for it,’ like I’m just sitting in a circle with friends and picking.” “My heart will always belong to honky tonk, but ‘One Tear at a Time’ was made with a different kind of energy so that the lyrics get all the attention.”
A country music old soul since childhood, Trevino’s near-encyclopedic knowledge of classic country artists, songwriters and their music has shaped his career and inspired his fresh take on traditional sounds. Prophetically named after Justin Tubb, his father’s favorite songwriter, Justin recalls, “My parents used to take me with them to honky tonks so by the time I was five or six, I knew I wanted to be a singer for a living. I started taking guitar lessons when I was 7 and at 12 or 13, my dad and I were out looking for gigs. When you’re a teenager, you don’t really think that you’re an ‘old soul,’ but I knew the music I was making was not the music that my friends dug.” Since then, Trevino has released 15 albums, is a highly sought-after producer, received awards for Pure Country Record Producer and Song of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists, a Terry Award for producer of the year and has been named the CMA of Texas Artist of the Year. In 2019, he was named Ameripolitan Male Western Swing Vocalist of the Year in 2024 was presented the Cowtown Society of Western Swing Hall of Fame award.
‘One Tear at a Time (The Acoustic Sessions)’ Track Listing:
- One Tear At A Time
- If You’ll Hold The Ladder
- Healing Hands of Time
- As Long As There’s A Sunday
- Calm Before The Storm
- Cowpoke
- Rainbow In Daddy’s Eyes
- Jealously Insane
- Right About Now
- What If The Tables Were Turned
- My Joy
- She Knows My Weakness
- Windy City
- Pride Goes Before A Fall
- Rainbow Colored Words
- I Don’t Have Any Place To Go
- Closer To The Vine
- Cheating Was Good While It Lasted (With Erin Caldwell)
- I Still Can’t Believe You’re Gone
- I Think I’ll Go Somewhere And Cry Myself To Sleep