96 Tears
"96 Tears" is a song recorded by the American garage rock band ? and the Mysterians and released in August 1966 on Cameo-Parkway. It was written by the group's lead singer, "Question Mark" (aka Rudy Martinez) in 1962 in his manager's living room. Known for its signature organ licks and bare-bones lyrics, "96 Tears" is recognized as one of the first garage rock hits, and has been credited for starting the punk rock movement.
In October 1966 it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and on the RPM 100 in Canada. On November 11th 1966, the single was certified as gold by the RIAA. Billboard ranked the record as the #5 song for 1966. In 2010 it was ranked #213 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"96 Tears" was covered by The Residents as early as 1970, with an almost unrecognizable cover included on their unreleased demo tape The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger. Another version of the song can be heard near the start of the suite "Hitler Was a Vegetarian", from the group's 1976 album The Third Reich 'n Roll.
History
Background
Various reports have suggested that ? and the Mysterians' vocalist "Question Mark" first wrote "96 Tears" under the title "Too Many Teardrops", and later "69 Tears", but then changed the title, fearing that radio stations wouldn't play the song. However, Question Mark denied this in an interview, stating that the number 96 has a deep philosophical meaning for him.
The song appeared on the band's album, also titled 96 Tears. The follow-up single, "I Need Somebody", peaked at #22 later that year, but no other Top 40 singles followed.
The Residents' versions
The Residents' first known recording of "96 Tears" dates from their pre-history; a version of the song is featured on their unreleased 1970 demo tape The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger.
Their second version of the song is a short rendition featured near the beginning of the suite "Hitler Was a Vegetarian", which takes up the B-side of their third studio album The Third Reich 'n Roll, recorded in October 1975 and released on Ralph Records in February 1976. In the suite, the song segues directly into Lesley Gore's similarly tear-themed hit "It's My Party".
An edited version of the Third Reich version of the song is featured on the fourth disc of The Residents' career-spanning box set 80 Aching Orphans, released in October 2017.
Lyrics
Original version (1966)
Too many teardrops For one heart to be cryin' Too many teardrops For one heart to carry on
You're way on top now Since you left me You're always laughin' Way down at me
But watch out now I'm gonna get there We'll be together For just a little while And then I'm gonna put you Way down here And you'll start cryin' 96 tears
Cry Cry
And when the sun comes up, I'll be on top You'll be right down there lookin' up And I might wave, come up here But I don't see you wavin' now
I'm way down here wonderin' how I'm gonna get you, but I know now I'll just cry Cry I'll just cry
Too many teardrops For one heart to be cryin' Too many teardrops For one heart to carry on
You're gonna cry 96 tears You're gonna cry 96 tears You're gonna cry, cry cry cry, now You're gonna cry, cry cry cry You might also like
96 tears, c'mon, let me hear you cry, now 96 tears, woo, I wanna hear you cry Night and day, yeah, all night long 96 tears, cry cry cry C'mon baby, let me hear you cry now All night long, 96 tears Yeah, c'mon now, 96 tears
List of releases
- The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger (1970, unreleased) [version 1]
- The Third Reich 'n Roll (1976) [version 2]
- 80 Aching Orphans (2017) [version 3]
List of versions
- ↑ San Mateo home recording, June - September 1970
- ↑ Sycamore Street studio recording, October 1975 ("Hitler Was a Vegetarian", 0:59)
- ↑ Sycamore Street studio recording, October 1975 (edited version, 0:59)
See also
External links and references
|
The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger (1970) Side A |
