American garage rock band ? and the Mysterians had their breakthrough with the release of “96 Tears” drawing massive success with American soldiers during the Vietnam War, and remaining a success story ever since.
? and the Mysterians began their series of chart-toppers with this incredible song from 1966. “96 Tears” brought with it one of the most impactful sounds of the era, with the organ riff being instantly recognizable and instrumental to defining the sound of the rock going forward.
The distinctive sound that Rudy Martinez had come up with for this song ended up becoming a tone and style that would come to be associated with dive bars during the seventies, and a characteristic that is instant-nostalgia today.
Between the Hammond hook that gets you every time to the mysterious yet rewarding sound of psychedelic rock at its best, “96 Tears” is incredible.
