? wrote the song that would become their first and biggest hit, "96 Tears," with essential riffs and styling being contributed by the Mysterians. The song began as a poem called "Too Many Teardrops", written four years before the band was formed.
With its plaintive chorus and Rodriguez's catchy Vox organ riff, "96 Tears" was originally recorded on March 13, 1966, in Bay City, Michigan, as a single for local Pa-Go-Go Records, owned by the group's manager, Lillian Gonzales. The song was recorded on the porch of a private home and became a regional hit in the Flint and Detroit areas.

It was originally intended that the song "Midnight Hour" would be the group's first single, with "96 Tears" as the B-side, but at the insistence of ?, "96 Tears" was chosen as the A-side. ? personally went to radio stations to promote the single, and the song quickly became a local hit. When Cameo-Parkway Records released the song, the single hit No. 1. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

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