"96 Tears" is a song recorded by the American garage rock band ? and the Mysterians in 1966. In October of that year, it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and on the RPM 100 in Canada. Billboard ranked the record as the number five song for 1966. It is ranked number 213 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. On November 11, 1966, the single was certified as gold by the RIAA.
The song was written by Question Mark (Rudy Martinez) in 1962 in his manager's living room, and was recorded in Bay City, Michigan. At first, Question Mark had to insist that "96 Tears" be the A-side over "Midnight Hour". Once the issue was settled, the band recorded the single for the small Pa-Go-Go label, owned by Lilly Gonzalez. She backed the band financially, and allowed access to her personal studio in her basement. When it began doing well locally, the band took a recording to Bob Dell, the radio director in Flint, Michigan. The song became the most requested, and wider radio play spread into Canada, where it was picked up by Cameo Records for national distribution.
Various reports have suggested that Question Mark first wrote the song under the title "Too Many Teardrops" and then "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.
Known for its signature organ licks and bare-bones lyrics, "96 Tears" is recognized as one of the first garage band hits, and has even been given credit for starting the punk rock movement.
Though Question Mark and the Mysterians were unable to replicate their success with their later recordings, and are thus deemed a "one-hit wonder", they did manage to reach the singles charts on five different occasions. In 1968, their label, Cameo-Parkway, was shut down for stock manipulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, taking the band's money and contract with them. Though they disbanded in 1969, the band has regrouped and released additional material over the years.
