Tears

It’s night time in the big city
Three homeless men share a bottle around a trash can inferno
A rock goes through a window on 12th St.

The Singers and Songs

  • ? and The Mysterians
    96 Tears
    “Not all songs about crying are necessarily sad. This one at least sounds happy…Led by Rudy Martinez, who actually changed his name to ? …(he) never appears in public without his sunglasses; I gotta admit, they did make him look pretty cool.”
  • Anita O’Day
    And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine
  • Bobby Charles
    Big Boys Cry
    “He was more successful as a songwriter than as a singer, and that’s a sin ‘cause he’s a hell of a singer. He’s got one of the most melodious voices ever transferred to a piece of vinyl... The boy could sing like a bird, he still does as a matter of fact.”
  • Solomon Burke
    Cry To Me
    “Here’s a mighty, mighty man, a mammoth talent...He’s the father of 14 daughters and 7 sons...He has 64 grandchildren, and 8 great-grand children. No wonder he’s singing this song!”
  • Hank Williams
    I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
  • Julie London
    Cry Me A River
    “Here’s one of the sexiest, most sultry records ever recorded. A deserved smash.”
  • Jimmy Nelson
    I Sat And Cried
  • The Marvelettes
    No More Tear Stained Makeup
    “Maybe the most pop-oriented of Motown’s major female acts.”
  • Charlie Rich
    Tears A Go-Go
  • J. Geils Band
    Cry One More Time For You
  • Roy Brown
    Laughing But Crying
    “Part of the great tradition of rhythm and blues songs where the singer breaks down in tears.”
  • Billy Ward & His Dominoes
    The Bells
  • Alton Ellis and The Flames
    Cry Tough
    “Alton was deservedly inducted into the international reggae and world music hall of fame. Congratulations to all concerned.”
  • Lula Reed
    Drown In My Own Tears
    “Here she is, a heavenly singer with a voice like Gabriel’s trumpet…Oh, if trumpet players could only play like she sings!”
  • Mose Allison
    Everybody’s Crying Mercy

The Other People and Players

  • Woodrow "Woody" Wilson
  • Oliver Wendell Holmes
  • Billy Tipton
  • Peter Wolf
    “Pete got his start as a disc jockey on WCBN in Boston on the Late Night Soul Show, playin’ all the platters that matter, from swing to sweet, bop to ballad, and blues to boogie…see Pete, I can do it too!”
  • Peter Wolf
    “Pete got his start as a disc jockey on WCBN in Boston on the Late Night Soul Show, playin’ all the platters that matter, from swing to sweet, bop to ballad, and blues to boogie…see Pete, I can do it too!”
  • Wanda Young
  • Gladys Horton
  • Lee Young
  • Smokey Robinson
  • Maxwell Davis
  • Tom Ewell
  • Audrey Shepherd
  • Bert Russell
  • Bill Haley
  • Stan Kenton Band
  • Gene Krupa Big Band
  • Anita O’Day
  • Aesop
  • Thomas Fuller
    "We never know the worth of water till the well is dry." “We are born crying, live complaining, and die disappointed.”
  • Ray Charles
  • Jerry Lee Lewis
  • Lester Young
  • Dylan Thomas
  • B.B. King
  • Graham Parsons
  • Prince

The Other Songs and Albums

The Guests

  • Elvis Costello

The Books and Poems

The Movies and TV Shows

The Places

  • Tippo, MS
  • Kingston, Jamaica
  • Beale Street
  • New York

Other Songs Where the Singer Breaks Out In Tears


“Well, the old clock on the wall says it’s time to go, and it’s a good thing, ‘cause I’m out of Kleenex anyway. So I’m gonna hop in my car, and head down the Robinson Freeway, and get myself a beer I can cry into.”