Trail of Tears is the fourth studio album from country artist Billy Ray Cyrus. It was released on August 20, 1996, and two singles were released: the title track which featured a video directed by Rich Murray and "Three Little Words", which respectively peaked at number 69 and number 65 on the country charts.
The album debuted at number 125 on the U.S. Billboard 200, and at number 20 on the U.S. Top Country Albums. The album has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide. Despite low sales the album was the first to receive widespread critical acclaim from music critics for Cyrus, earning him industry respect from Nashville.
Included on Trail of Tears are covers of "Harper Valley PTA", originally recorded by Jeannie C. Riley, "Sing Me Back Home", originally recorded by Merle Haggard and The Strangers, and "Crazy Mama", originally recorded by J. J. Cale.
Cyrus is a credited writer on all other tracks, except for the album's second single, "Three Little Words".
Cyrus said of the album, "I call it 'Homegrown Music'; it's a different kind of album. There are people we have played it for who are shocked that it's me. What's really exciting is that I'm finding that everywhere I go - from the record company to the radio stations - there is a new energy. For the first time in years, I feel free."
Trail of Tears was recorded with Cyrus's band Sly Dog in a log cabin owned by band member Terry Shelton, who served as producer on the album along with Cyrus. Cyrus said, "There we were, way out in Kingston Springs, TN, at the head of some holler. And I'm thinking, 'This is sonically better than my previous three albums. Am I crazy?' But then I thought of all the great records that had come from home studios, I started thinking, 'This ain't crazy -just because it's not some glossy studio down on 16th Avenue with a multi-million-dollar console and stuff, doesn't mean it's no good.'"
AllMusic's Thom Owens called it Cyrus' "most personal and [most] accomplished album", pointing out the "rootsy production flourishes" that added grit and edge to the overall sound and Cyrus having more conviction in his delivery, concluding that: "In fact, Trail of Tears suggests that he may be able to carve out a successful career for himself, after all." Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly called it "a rapidly maturing, bleeding-heart blend of roots rock and country classics wrapped in bare-bones production." She added that "Need a Little Help" and the title track had the potential to turn Cyrus into an "artistic contender".
Credits adapted from the Trail of Tears media notes.