96 Tears

"96 Tears"
Song
B-side	"Midnight Hour"

"96 Tears" is a popular song recorded by ? & the Mysterians in 1966. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and is ranked #210 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

History

The song was originally written by likely Question Mark, Rudy Martinez, around 1962. The recording was done in Bay City, Michigan. It was first released on the small Pa-Go-Go label and then picked up by Cameo Records for national distribution. The original issue is quite rare and sought after by record collectors.

The song was originally supposed to be "69 Tears", but that title and lyric was considered too risqué for radio airplay and was changed to the current version as a result.

Known for its signature organ licks and bare-bones lyrics, "96 Tears" has been widely-recognized as one of the first garage band hits and has even been given credit for starting the punk rock movement. It is generally accepted that rock critic Dave Marsh coined the term "Punk rock" when referring to this song.

The song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966 and was the band's only major hit single. Follow-up song "I Need Somebody" peaked at number 22 later that year and no other U.S. top-forty singles followed. It appears on the band's album 96 Tears.

Personnel

• Lead singer Question Mark (believed to be Rudy Martinez, born in Mexico but raised in Michigan's Saginaw Valley)
• Lead guitarist Robert Balderrama
• Keyboardist Frank Rodriquez
• Bass player Frank Lugo
• Drummer Robert Martinez

Covers

The song has been covered by the following artists:

• Aretha Franklin, from her 1967 album, Aretha Arrives.
• Big Maybelle, from her 1967 album, America's Queen Mother of Soul: Got a Brand New Bag
• Music Explosion, from their 1967 album Little Bit O' Soul
• The Modern Lovers
• Jimmy Ruffin
• David Byrne
• The Residents, a drastically different rearrangement is included on their 1976 album, The Third Reich 'n Roll early in the "Hitler was a Vegetarian" segment.
• Utopia
• Suicide, from their 1977 album, Suicide
• Garland Jeffreys, from his 1980 album, Escape Artist
• The Stranglers, from their 1990 album, 10
• Eddie and the Hot Rods, from their 1976 EP, Live at the Marquee
• Primal Scream, a B-side on their 1997 single, Kowalski
• Inspiral Carpets, on disc 2 (Rare As) of their 2003 compilation album, Cool As
• Texas Tornados
• Iggy Pop
• Joe "King" Carrasco
• Thelma Houston
• Bruce Springsteen, as a "Stump the Band" number during his 2009 Working on a Dream Tour
• The Rubinoos

It is alluded to in the song "Plus Ones" by folk band Okkervil River and also by the B-52's in "Deadbeat Club". Other allusions to "96 Tears" occur in the songs "Johnny Hit and Run Pauline" by X and "Human Fly" by the Cramps.

In popular culture

• The original recording was featured in the 1979 film More American Graffiti.

• The song was featured in a memorable scene from the Stephen King film Cat's Eye.

• The song was featured in the film An American Crime.