Sad But True is the debut studio album by Australian rock band Tex, Don and Charlie. It was released in November 1993. It spent 6 weeks in the Australian charts, peaking at number 40. In 2010, it was listed in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.

In early 1992, Don Walker, Charlie Owen, James Cruickshank and Tex Perkins played an acoustic live performance for alternative radio station JJJ. All were already well known within the Australian music industry. Walker had been in Cold Chisel, Perkins was in The Cruel Sea and Beasts of Bourbon, Cruickshank in The Cruel Sea, and Owen was a noted session guitarist. Their cover of Bob Dylan's "Blind Willie McTell" from this session appeared on the album JJJ album Totally Wireless.

Perkins later said, "I saw Charlie and thought 'Jesus Christ'. He was easily the best rock guitar player I had seen. He was really dexterous, but gutsy. Not flashy. I think it had a lot of jazz in him as well. I made a mental note that I'd like to work with Charlie and about one year later I heard he was playing with Don Walker in Catfish. Then somebody suggested I do something with Don Walker and I said 'Sure, as long as Charlie Owen is there'. Walker said, "The first time I clapped eyes on Tex was when he came in my front door, and the next thing I noticed was that he opened his mouth & sung a song or two, and he had this extraordinary voice."

Six months later, Perkins proposed a recording with Walker. After comparing songs, they felt they had enough material for an album and Owen was again approached. Walker claimed, "I had the most fun I've had recording an album for maybe 12 or 13 years. It wasn't an album approached with any kind of seriousness. It was always going to be a couple of afternoons in a studio and a jam. It wasn't until after we had it all done that we started to realise that we might have something special."

Owen contributed the raucous instrumental "Dead Dog Boogie" that appears at the mid-point of the album. "It was the very last song we did," Perkins explained. "All the rest of the songs, there’s so much restraint, and this is like the huge vomit everyone wanted to have!"

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