B-side "Midnight Hour" Format 7" Length 2:56 | Released August 1966 (1966) Recorded 1966 | |
Genre Garage rock
pop rock
psychedelic rock | ||
"96 Tears" is a song recorded by the American garage rock band, ? and the Mysterians, in 1966 (see 1966 in music). 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 the year 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.
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The song was written by Question Mark (Rudy Martinez) in 1962 in his manager's living room, under the name "Too Many Teardrops" and then "69 Tears". Upon changing the title (fearing that radio stations wouldn't play the song), it 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.
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.
The song appeared on the band's album, 96 Tears. The follow-up song, "I Need Somebody", peaked at number 22 later that year, but no other U.S. Top 40 singles followed.