? and the Mysterians (or Question Mark and the Mysterians) are a Mexican-American garage rock band from Bay City and Saginaw in Michigan, initially active between 1962 and 1969. Much of the band's music consisted of electric organ-driven garage rock and an enigmatic image inspired by the 1957 Japanese science fiction film The Mysterians. In addition, the band's sound was also marked by the raw, resonating lead vocals of "?" (Question Mark, the stage name of Rudy Martínez), making Question Mark and the Mysterians one of the earliest groups whose musical style is described as punk rock. Their music and imagery were highly influential on later bands.
The band signed to Pa-Go-Go Records (based in San Antonio, Texas and run by Rudy "Tee" Gonzales) in 1966 and released its first and most acclaimed single, "96 Tears", in the early part of that year. "96 Tears" became a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and propelled the group to a 15-month period of national prominence. Their debut album, 96 Tears, followed. 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 occasions.
Though they disbanded in 1969, the band has regrouped and released additional material over the years. "96 Tears" was listed at number 210 on the 2004 Rolling Stone list The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Links to Peel[]
It is not known when Peel first discovered the group, but he may have found their music whilst he was living in America during most of the 60's. The group's music was played by the DJ in later years on his shows. After his death in 2004, it was later found out that he had a couple of their albums in his Record Collection: Q.
Shows Played[]
- 13 July 1976: 96 Tears (7") Cameo Parkway
- 1980
- 07 June 1980 (BFBS): 96 Tears
- 1983
- 26 December 1983: 96 Tears
- 1988
- 03 October 1988: I Need Somebody (LP - 96 Tears) Cameo
- 1996
- 04 April 1996: 96 Tears (7") London