THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,918) ? And the Mysterians — “Girl (You Captivate Me)”
Did he just say that?! Yes, indeed, he did, on this captivating “killer fuzz/punk” (brucster99b, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb4V5QHx8RM) number that flipped “96 Tears” back upside down where it started. Question Mark later explained that the song’s “’real’ title is ‘Girl (You Masturbate Me)'”. (Bill Kopp, https://blog.musoscribe.com/index.php/2009/10/12/feature-question-mark-the-mysterians/)
The Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame elaborates:
The group was optimistic that their fourth single, “Girl (You Captivate Me)” . . . would put them back on top. The sound . . . featured Bobby[ Martinez]’s guitar played through a fuzz box to great effect and a snarling vocal by Question Mark. In an attempt to give the song more edge, Question Mark substituted the lyric “Girl you masturbate me” for the original line “Girl you fascinate me”; but Cameo-Parkway once again failed to give much promotion to the single. Somewhat surprisingly, the song was performed on American Bandstand on June, 10, 1967. The video . . . shows Question Mark lip-synching the song without any of the other Mysterians in sight. Perhaps because the lyric “masturbate” was altered when it was broadcast, it became a classic “mondegreen” (a term given to misunderstood song lyrics) for a large number of listeners. Many thought they heard “Girl you masticate me”, thinking that no song featured on AM radio or introduced by Dick Clark on American Bandstand would contain the word “masturbate”. But “Girl (You Captivate Me)” featured the unmentionable and, once the word got out, the song was taken off most radio playlists. As a result, the single barely scraped into Billboard at # 98. It would also prove to be the band’s final entry on the Hot 100.
https://michiganrockandrolllegends.com/hall-of-fame/artists/289-question-mark-and-the-mysterians
Bill Kopp writes that:
The group’s sound was an amalgam of cheesy organ (Farfisa or Vox, depending on whom and when you ask), garage-rock arrangement and the sneering, menacing vocals of Question Mark. . . . While everyone in the band is of Latino heritage, Question Mark bristled at the idea of putting them in an “ethnic” category with Los Lobos and Thee Midniters [see #603]. “I just think of us as a rock n’ roll band. When you put on the radio all you hear is music. And you don’t even know if there’s females playin’ music. And you don’t even know if there’s a crow playin’ the music. You don’t know what’s playin’ the music. All you know is that you hear music, right? And that’s the way it should be.[“]
https://blog.musoscribe.com/index.php/2009/10/12/feature-question-mark-the-mysterians/
That is indeed the way it should be.
Steve Huey answers our questions:
It only took one song, the organ-driven number one smash “96 Tears,” to make ? & the Mysterians into garage rock legends. Eccentric frontman Question Mark (actually spelled “?,” once he had his name legally changed) cultivated an aura of mystery by never appearing in public without a pair of wraparound sunglasses; he frequently claimed he had been born on Mars and lived among the dinosaurs in a past life, and that voices from the future had revealed he would be performing “96 Tears” in the year 10,000. On a more earthly level, the Mysterians’ sound helped lay down an important part of the garage rock blueprint, namely the low-budget sci-fi feel of the Farfisa and Vox organs . . . . What was more, they were one of the first Latino rock groups to have a major hit, and ?’s sneering attitude made him one of the prime suspects in the evolution of garage rock into early punk. The Mysterians were formed in 1962 by bassist Larry Borjas, his cousin, guitarist Bobby Balderrama, and drummer Robert Martinez; they soon added vocalist ? (the general consensus is that he was actually Rudy Martinez, Robert’s brother, though a few sources identified him as Reeto Rodriguez) and organist Frank Rodriguez. By most accounts, all the musicians were born in Texas, of Mexican descent, and grew up in Michigan in the Saginaw/Bay City area. Taking their name from a Japanese science fiction film, the band played its first gigs in the small Michigan town of Adrian in 1964, and soon moved its home base from Saginaw to Flint. Larry Borjas and Robert Martinez were both forced to leave the band for military duty, and were replaced by bassist Frank Lugo and the Martinez brothers’ brother-in-law, drummer Eddie Serrato. Shortly afterward, ? wrote the lyrics a song he called “Too Many Teardrops” and showed them to the rest of the band; the title was changed first to “69 Tears,” and then the less suggestive “96 Tears.” The song became a hit at the Mt. Holly ski lodge/dancehall, where the band played regularly, and in early 1966 they recorded it for the small local label Pa-Go-Go, owned by the band’s manager. It became a regional hit in Flint and Detroit, attracting interest from several major record companies; ? decided to sign with the Philadelphia-based Cameo-Parkway . . . . Now blessed with national distribution, “96 Tears” raced up the pop charts and went all the way to number one in the fall of 1966, becoming one of garage rock’s all-time classics. The band’s first album . . . was released by the end of the year, as was its follow-up single, “I Need Somebody,” which just missed the Top 20. Released in early 1967, “Can’t Get Enough of You Baby” was a minor hit, but the group’s second album, Action, sold disappointingly; moreover, Cameo-Parkway was experiencing financial difficulties, and was later taken over by ABKCO chief Allen Klein. The Mysterians departed, recording singles for Capitol in 1968 and Tangerine and Super K in 1969, to no commercial avail . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/-the-mysterians-mn0000567190#biography
Here is ? on American Bandstand:
Live ’07:
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