Modern Lovers
96 Tears
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band, billed simply as "The Modern Lovers", existed from 1970-74 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Jonathan Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks with drummer David Robinson (later of The Cars) and keyboardist Jerry Harrison (later of Talking Heads). The sound of the band owed a great deal to the influence of The Velvet Underground, and is now considered one of the leading bands of the "proto-punk" scene. It pointed the way towards much of the Punk, New Wave and Indie rock music of later decades. The 9 tracks found here (with the exception of "A Plea For Tenderness" recorded in 1973), were recorded live at Harvard University in the summer of 1971, while the band was still in its infant stages (having formed barely a year earlier in September 1970). Their first studio recording, a demo for Warner Bros, would not be made until that fall and their live Longbranch set wouldnt be recorded until April of 1972. It is also one of the only existing recordings to feature second guitarist John Felice, Richmans childhood friend (and the first official member of the Modern Lovers), who left the band before the recording of their first album. Jerry Harrison (later of the Talking Heads) plays keyboards and David Robinson (later of DMZ and the Cars) plays drums. Featuring rare tracks, like a rockin' version of Question Mark & The Mysterians "96 Tears".