When it comes to one-hit wonders, the group ? and the Mysterians (pronounced Question Mark and the Mysterians) stands at the head of the pack. In 1966, the band’s first single, “96 Tears,” came out of nowhere and topped the charts. The organ-drenched song is not only still played on the radio today, but is renowned as a garage rock classic and an important precursor of punk rock. Before this interview, all I knew about the artist known as ? was that he was a skinny, leather-clad Mexican-American who had supposedly never removed his sunglasses since the sixties.

       You said you originally wanted to be a dancer, so how’d you end up becoming a singer?

      ?: The first time was in Flint, Michigan. I asked if I could sing a song after one of my dance routines. Then my parents got me a tape recorder, and I started singing songs like “96 Tears” into it when I was ten.

       You composed it when you were ten years old?

      ?: Yes, and then I wanted to learn to play an instrument so I could make the music in my head come alive. I went to the music store, and this girl said that her dad knew how to play piano and could teach me. So I went to the nice side of town. I thought, “This is what it must be like to be rich.” Everyone wondered what I was doing there.

      I asked her dad, “Could you teach me how to play the music in my head?” He said, “You got to go to the beginning with ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb.’ ” And I said, “I ain’t got no time for that.” I sang “96 Tears” for him, and he played it. But then he said the lessons would cost ten dollars a week, so I knew I wasn’t going back there. In the back of my head, I said, “Forget it.”

       But eventually you formed your own band?

      ?: Yeah, we recorded with no headphones, no acoustics, no separation—just a two-track machine. We recorded “96 Tears,” then made up the B-side. I had remembered a lot of the words I’d written, but I’d forgotten some of them, too. Eight months later, it was number one.

       How did you end up getting signed?

      ?: I needed a record label, so I went with Cameo Records because their records were orange and it’s my favorite color. If I had known the Beatles were on Capitol when they approached me or Elvis was on RCA, I would have gone with them. And then I got mad and felt like getting off the label when our record came out and it wasn’t orange.

       What do you think of the term garage rock?

      ?: It was just rock and roll. After “96 Tears,” rock and roll died. Hendrix and everyone were great musicians, but they weren’t playing rock and roll. They called it rock. So what happened to rock and roll? I call our music the new age of rock and roll. I got ESP, too. I don’t use it all the time, though.

       As in extrasensory perception?

      ?: Yeah, at first the press said I was a gimmick, but how can I be? I’m a real person. I was born on Mars many eons ago. I was around when dinosaurs were around. I’ve always had dreams of T. rex chasing me, and he got me. I discovered this week that they just found footprints from when the dinosaurs were around and they weren’t ape footprints. I said, “See, I told you I was around then. We hid so we wouldn’t get eaten.” Since then, I’ve lived many different lives. And even though I was born on Mars, I’m not an alien. I hate when people call it Mars, because it’s not really Mars anyway.

       What is it then?

      ?: It’s just a planet, do you know what I’m saying. It’s part of the universe. That’s man’s ignorance: They have to label everything. They have to call us Martians just like they call the blacks niggers. Who is mankind to do that just because they feel more superior?

       Why do you never remove your sunglasses?

      ?: I never take my sunglasses off. Somebody instilled that in me, gave me that power and ability to have that. I have so much knowledge. When I return in another lifeform, I may be a tennis player or a basketball player because I’m very athletic today.

       How do you know you’re going to be reincarnated as a human?

      ?: Well, I myself am going to come back in the year ten thousand and I’m going to be singing “96 Tears.” And people will know it’s me in this other body.

       How will they know?

      ?: Because I will say a unique phrase that no one in history has said before. And I’ve only told it to a few people. But for right now, I’m just going to rock and roll.

       Can you tell me the phrase?

      ?: No.