The 1st Punk Rock Song Had a Title Too Scandalous for Radio

Perhaps the most provocative subgenre of classic rock is punk rock music. The first punk rock song originally had a title that might have been too much for radio and television stations at the time. The tune in question still ended up with a name that was pretty weird.

The 1st punk rock song came out in the 1960s

Punk rock is usually understood as a 1970s genre. This ignores the fact that several 1960s bands were making music that could reasonably described as punk rock, including The Doors, Paul Revere & the Raiders, The Beatles, and even The Monkees. Some critics and historians believe the first punk rock song was a hit called “96 Tears” by Question Mark & the Mysterians. It’s not the best or most complex punk rock song you’ll ever hear, and it features none of the provocations that would become the genre’s trademark. Regardless, it has a great groove.

During an interview published on Vice in 2014, Bobby Balderrama from Question Mark & the Mysterians discussed the tune’s name. “How we came up with the name ’96 Tears,’ see, when we were putting the song together, Question Mark was singing, ‘Too Many Teardrops,’ and I think we wanted to call it that, but then our drummer said, ‘Let’s call it ’69 Tears!'” he said. “And we said, ‘Well, it’s a real catchy name, but we don’t think that they’ll say that on the radio; it’s too dirty.'”

Question Mark & the Mysterians made the history of punk rock with a name change

Balderrama implied that the title “69 Tears” could lead to censorship. “Even though I was only 14 when we were recorded the song and 15 when it came out, I knew what 69 meant,” he recalled. “The Rolling Stones almost got banned for doing the same thing on The Ed Sullivan Show when they sang, ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together,’ the censors at The Ed Sullivan Show thought that line was too dirty, so they had to change it to ‘Let’s Spend Some Time Together.’ So the drummer said, ‘Let’s turn the numbers around!'”

Balderrama didn’t understand the request initially. Then, the drummer told him that the track should be called “96 Tears.” Balderrama thought that was a great idea. While the song is a classic, its name feels so odd. Who bothers to count the number of tears they cry? Typically, people are too emotional to do something like that when they cry.

’96 Tears’ was not the only hit song from Question Mark & the Mysterians

“96 Tears” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week. It spent 15 weeks on the chart in total. “96 Tears” appeared on the album of the same title. The record 96 Tears peaked at No. 66 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 15 weeks.

Question Mark & the Mysterians are often cited as a one-hit wonder. On the contrary, they had a few minor hits after “96 Tears.” “I Need Somebody” was the biggest. It reached No. 22. Meanwhile, “Can’t Get Enough of You Baby” hit No. 56 and “Girl (You Captivate Me)” hit No. 98.

Question Mark & the Mysterians are not the most famous band ever. Despite that, they managed to change the arc of music history with one song.