96 tears

11 THINGS: 96 Tears

Thursday, January 25, 2007

1. Who? ? and the Mysterians. "The Mysterians" part of the band name is from a Japanese science fiction film from 1957. The "?" part is the lead singer's legal name. He also claims to be a Martian (and won't appear in public without his sunglasses).

2. What? "96 Tears" was the song that made the band darling one-hit wonders. A little bit garage, a little bit punk and a little bit Motown, it also brought a not-so-little bit of early Latino success in the pop music industry. Visit YouTube and query ?+and+ the+Mysterians and you might even detect a little bit of Prince in the early, early videos.

3. Where? The band was from Flint, Mich.

4. When? "96 Tears" reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts on Oct. 29, 1966. It's also No. 120 on Pitchfork's 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s and No. 210 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of all time.

5. How? The song was originally called "69 Tears," but the band's record label had them change it to avoid controversy.

6. No, no, how does the song go? "Too many teardrops/ for one heart to be cryin'/ Too many teardrops/ for one heart to carry on/ You're way on top now/ Since you left me/ You're always laughin'/ Way down at me" ... followed by a whole lot of cryin', a whole lot of tears, a whole lot of dancin' and well ... you get the picture.

7. What else? "96 Tears" has been covered by the Modern Lovers, Aretha Franklin, the Stranglers, Primal Scream and many others. The Cramps also reference the song in "Human Fly" ("Gravest Hits").

8. Why should I care? A little over two weeks ago, a fire destroyed ?'s home in Vienna Township, Mich. According to the Associated Press, the singer "lost 40 years worth of memorabilia including a gold record award and an organ believed to have belonged to Pink Floyd. Four Yorkshire terriers and a cockatoo also died in the blaze. ? didn't have insurance.

9. How is ? ? One has to admire ?'s optimism. He told AP: "No matter how tragic it is, if you know who you are and know what you have to offer, don't let these tragedies bring you down."

10. What's next? Benefit shows are being planned, including a performance by the band at Detroit's Winter Blast outdoor festival Feb. 9-11.

11. What can you do? To learn more, go to http://www.96tears.net/. The site has a video with ? describing the fire, photo links, donation options and a link to the band's MySpace site. You can also write to the band at: ? and the Mysterians, P.O. Box 96, Clio, MI 48420.

Tim Sullivan, tsullivan@sfchronicle.com

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