I got a text and video this morning from a friend. It was to inform me that today was the 80th birthday of Rudy Martinez. He also sent 4 question marks. Yeah, that’s what I would have thought as well; who the hell is Rudy Martinez? Now that makes 5 question marks. Fortunately, the video was for “? and The Mysterians” singing “96 Tears.” As it turns out, “?” (Question Mark) is the “nom de plume;” pen name of Rudy Martinez. 

In 1966, the single “96 Tears” reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, on October 29. I was only a few years old in 1966, but somehow that song has become one of my all time favorites, and I wanted to recount how I heard the song performed live; not by Question Mark and The Mysterians, or at some ultra-hip joint like the Village Underground as they did in 2001.

No, one of the most memorable performances I ever saw, and I have seen a few, was by some unknown street musician playing 50 feet below Boston City Hall, in the Government Center/ Green Line MBTA Station. 

I can still see her; white Go-Go Boots, black stockings, short skirt, a silver; almost reflective shirt, a cute face, and as a “cherry on top,” a crown of blinking colored lights perched on her head that seemed to pulse to the notes of her stand-up electronic instrument. This was “before the days” of cheap and easy LED’s, so she must have concocted some homemade Christmas Lights that she powered off a cord and portable battery. 

Her outfit was cool enough to remember, but there’s more. She had this high pitch, almost whiny, mechanical voice that she belted out; “ I’m going to Cry….Cry, Cry, Cry, Cry.” Headlights flashing, her wrists pumping, and her toes tapping. Awesome! This was not a song with heavy airplay in the mid 80’s. To continue on, her choice of “venue” also became epic. The synthesizer music bounced off and echoed throughout the odd-shaped tunneled “T Stop.” Almost to my own imagination, the flickering of the old fluorescent lights, and the steel wheels of the antiquated Street Cars joined in the chorus; “blink, blink,….. screech, screech, screech. Come on, let me hear you cry now……Night and Day….all night long!”

I looked around; my friends were dancing, people waiting for their trolleys were unsuspectedly swaying, and lip-syncing. The vendor at the newsstand uncharacteristically paused to watch the performance. 

I stepped forward and dropped a few dollars in her case. I was rewarded with a nod and smile thanking me, as she continued on. 

I turned and began my ascent up the escalator. As I left, the song started from the beginning; loud and clear, and floated up the passageway. “Too many teardrops….. for one heart to be crying….too many teardrops for one heart to carry on…..” As I reached the top, the music eventually faded, but ……my memory never did.