Formation and "96 Tears" The band members were children of Mexican
migrant farmers who settled in Michigan. The original trio, consisting of Larry Borjas (guitar), Robert Martinez (drums), and Bobby Balderrama (lead guitar), encountered one another and were motivated by
surf rock bands and instrumentalists like
Link Wray and
Duane Eddy to form a group in 1962. The band played locally with the same lineup until the influence of the
British Invasion with groups stressing lead vocals and dynamic stage performances. Rudy Martinez, aka Question Mark, was known for his dancing ability and was suggested to the band as he was Robert Martinez's brother. When the band recruited keyboard player Frank Rodriguez, who was a part of another local group, the Trespassers, it was pivotal in Question Mark and the Mysterians' overall sound, especially in their song "
96 Tears". In February 1966, the band auditioned for an independent record label, resulting in the demos "Are You For Real?" and "I'll Be Back", which were only released later and boasted for their very good sound quality in the 1999 album
More Action. When released in April 1966, "Midnight Hour" was originally the
A-side for the band's debut single; however, "?" promoted the record across Michigan, encouraging radio stations to play "96 Tears" instead.
CKLW, a major station in Windsor, Ontario, extensively played the song, thus generating a number one regional hit. The song drew the attention of
Neil Bogart, president of
Cameo-Parkway Records. The success of the song was attributed to the
Vox Continental riff, and, as critic Greg Shaw explained, the simplicity and precise execution.
Other chart successes The next two singles for
Question Mark and the Mysterians, "I Need Somebody" and "
Can't Get Enough of You Baby", also charted, but were nowhere near as successful as "96 Tears". These were compiled on the album
96 Tears along with a handful of other songs. Question Mark and the Mysterians' second album,
Action, featured the band at the peak of its musicianship, but the album was not a commercial success. The band then briefly recorded with
Capitol Records,
Tangerine Records and
Super K. The band lineup changed as the original members left for other projects.
Mel Schacher, future bass player for
Grand Funk Railroad, briefly became the bass guitarist along with Frank Montoya on guitar and Jeff McDonald on drums until Richard Schultz took over on bass and co-wrote several songs with Question Mark; including "She Goes to Church on Sunday", which was licensed to
Paul McCartney's publishing company.
1970s, 1980s and 1990s In the early 1970s, Question Mark and the Mysterians reformed with a different lineup consisting of two guitars and no keyboards. The band attracted the attention of rock critic
Dave Marsh, who coined the term "punk rock" in a 1971
Creem Magazine article about Question Mark. In 1984, the original lineup of Question Mark and the Mysterians held a reunion concert in
Dallas, Texas. Original drummer Robert Martinez returned and replaced Eddie Serrato on drums after Serrato became ill with
multiple sclerosis. The Dallas concert did not lead to a full revival for the band, but the concert was recorded and released by the New York record label
ROIR,
96 Tears Forever: The Dallas ReUnion Tapes. In 1992, Question Mark collaborated with rap artist Saltine aka The Mad Rapper on a
hip hop remake of "96 Tears". The single was released on
Pandisc Records following a huge industry buzz on radio.
Billboard magazine gave the single a thumbs up. In 1997, Question Mark and the Mysterians reformed again. They collaborated with New York promoter Jon Weiss, who made the band headliners at CaveStomp
garage rock festivals. The festivals featured many revived 1960s garage and
psychedelic acts. In 1998, the cover version of "Can't Get Enough of You, Baby" by
Smash Mouth reached number 14 on the US record chart.
Re-release of 96 Tears During the 1990s, Question Mark and the Mysterians wanted to re-release their now out-of-print albums
96 Tears and
Action, but were unable to because the song rights now belonged to record executive
Allen Klein. In 1997, the band re-recorded their original 1966 album and released it on the
Collectables Records label. In 1998, Frank Rodriguez rejoined the band on keyboards and Question Mark and the Mysterians released the new live album
Do You Feel It, Baby? on
Norton Records and achieved moderate sales. In 1999, the band released a new studio album,
More Action, produced and recorded in New York City, with the album design by Michael Calleia at Industrial Strength Design. This design caused controversy as it was not approved by Question Mark prior to the release. Coinciding with the album release, Question Mark dissolved his business relationship with Weiss, allegedly due to dissatisfaction with the record and other business issues.
Collaborations In 2000, Question Mark began a collaboration with New York guitarist and rock promoter Gary Fury. This collaboration led to a series of live concerts featuring Question Mark with a backing band led by Fury, featuring musicians from other garage bands in the New York area. The first backing band lineup included Jim "Royale" Baglino of The Casino Royales and later
Monster Magnet on bass, Sam Steinig of the
Philadelphia band
Mondo Topless on keyboards and original Mysterians drummer Robert Martinez. The new group billed itself as
Question Mark and the Mysterymen and played the Limelight in New York and the
Black Cat in Washington, D.C. In 2002, Question Mark returned to New York to headline a two-night garage rock festival at the
CBGB club. The lineup included Question Mark, Fury, Robert Martinez, Keith Hartel on bass and former
Pat Benatar/
David Johansen band and current
E Street Band keyboardist
Charlie Giordano. This new band was billed as
Question Mark and the New Mysterians. The new band created a multi-track recording in CBGB's studio, which is still unreleased. On January 10, 2007, a fire destroyed Question Mark's house in
Clio, Michigan, destroying all of his memorabilia and killing the
Yorkshire Terrier dogs he was breeding as his business. To help Question Mark, his friends held several benefit shows for him, with Question Mark and the Mysterians performing at some of these events. In May 2007, he and Gary Fury played a benefit show at New York's
Highline Ballroom. The backup group, known as the Playthings, featured Fury on guitar, Jim Baglino on bass, Jimi Black of
Cheetah Chrome and
Sylvain Sylvain on drums, and Brian Leonard on keyboards. Guitarist Dennis Dean Lack joined the band in 1985, and was Question Mark's main guitarist and music director, and still collaborates on new songs with Question Mark into 2017. Lack has been active in the band off and on for over 30 years; he now resides in Northern Michigan.
The originals In between these shows, Question Mark was still occasionally active with the original Mysterians. In 2001, Question Mark and the original Mysterians returned to New York City to play guitarist
Steven Van Zandt's
Underground Garage live event, selling out the Village Underground venue. In 2006, the original members of ? and the Mysterians were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. Cover versions of "96 Tears" have been recorded by a number of bands and musicians, including
Big Maybelle,
Aretha Franklin,
Thelma Houston,
Todd Rundgren,
Iggy Pop,
Texas Tornados,
Eddie and the Hot Rods,
Inspiral Carpets,
the Stranglers, and
Garland Jeffreys.
In the 2010s Former Mysterians drummer Eddie Serrato (born Eduardo Serrato, December 5, 1945) died from a heart attack on February 24, 2011, aged 65. Lead guitarist Robert Balderrama was diagnosed with
prostate cancer in October 2017.
In the 2020s All five members played a show on November 11, 2023, at the Brooklyn Detroit venue in the
Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. ==Discography==