Predecessors and Origins
? (Question Mark) & The Mysterians photographed in 1966.
Predecessors of Punk
One of the core principles of punk is DIY, or do-it-yourself. At the time, the bands and artists emerging and gaining mainstream popularity were those who were backed by major labels and had the money for elaborate costumes, music production, and music videos. Punk and other music scenes, such as hip hop, are described as "young people making dynamic art without the help of the commercial music industry." (Berrios-Miranda, Marisol, et al. 203)
The anti-commercialism of punk is apparent in the music, with many of the key aspects of punk music being derived from garage rock. Garage rock, as hinted in its title, is characterized by bands composed of amateur musicians and it blends into their music — simple chords, simple lyrics. Unsophisticated, and aggressive.
However, it should be noted that there are many other bands and songs who also have many of the key features of punk before the peak of the movement. If anything, it is the culmination of all these artists that would start the punk scene. To credit the basis of movement to solely two groups would be foolish, but it is nonetheless important to highlight that Latino people have been an integral point of punk from its early beginnings.
? And The Mysterians
The American garage band ? (Question Mark) And The Mysterians released their song “96 Tears” in 1966, which is sometimes credited as the first punk song for its lyrics and simple chords. The band members were children of Tejano migrant workers who settled in Michigan. The band's name is derived from the 1957 Japanese tokusatsu (special effects) movie The Mysterians. The band consisted of mostly teens, with their keyboardist Frank Rodriguez being 13 when he first joined the band.
The band recorded their song "96 Tears", as well as another song "The Midnight Hour," in Bay City, Michigan. Their producer, Lilly Gonzales, had a Mexican label and had started numerous Mexican bands, but did not want Question Mark And The Mysterians to be labeled as one. She started a record label for the group, and gave them 500 copies of "96 Tears" for them to distribute. They distributed the songs to record stores and local radio stations, and soon their song was playing across the state.
Member Bobby Balderrama, in an interview in Vice with American journalist Legs McNeil, whose magazine 'Punk Magazine' gave the scene its name, says "After we started the band, they wouldn’t let us play their clubs. We couldn’t play in them because we were Mexican, you know? That was a weird thing, but then we got so big so quickly we didn’t want to play them!"
In the same interview, Bobby says that they were all influenced by rock & roll pioneer Little Richard. Little Richard, born Richard Penniman on December 5th, 1932, was an influential figure for rock. With his androgynous and flamboyant stage persona, trademark pompador, and throaty vocals, Little Richard's influence can be seen in The Beatles, Elton John, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Prince, and many more. It is important to highlight Little Richard, as well as other artists Black artists like Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Chuck Berry, are critical to the conception of rock and thus, critical to punk and other genre.
Image Source: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Los Saicos' most well-known song is Demolición, or Demolition in English.
Los Saicos
Hailing from Peru, Los Saicos are another garage band that would be credited with being punk predecessors and pioneers. Their simple chords, lyricism, and guttural, aggressive vocals are key aspects of punk that would not be seen in prominence until the 70s in England.
Established in 1964, the band was comprised of amateur musicians, but were quick to gain success in Peru. The members met approximately in 1960-1961 and lived near each other in the Lince district of the capital, Lima. Vocalist and guartist of the band Erwin Flores's brother Harry arranged for the band to appear over the radio and were asked to attend a festival, that Erwin would akin to "the Emmy Awards of Peru" in their Youtube documentary, where they shot up in popularity.
The band wasn't active for long, being active in 1965 and 1966, and the band stopped playing with no clear explanation as to why they separated. Music wasn't much of a viable profession back then, and after the band stopped playing they would go on to pursue other careers.
People began to rediscover the band, with the start of their cult following beginning in 1998 when a Peruvian went to the National Radio Station of Spain and requested a Los Saicos song. Fans began to seek out the members who had not been in touch with each other since their separation. The member reunited, however guitarist Rolando "El Chino" Carpio, sadly, had passed a year before the newfound attention for Los Saicos. The group has since gotten back together, and occasionally play a few venues.
United Kingdom and Punk
According to Matthew Worly of the Museum of Youth Culture, an emerging British museum centered on different youth cultures and scenes, states that Britsh punk came to fruition 1976 amalgamating from the Sex Pistols and would spread to cities, suburbs, and more.
In the same page, Worly says, "Best understood as a way of doing, punk informed everything from music through design, fashion, artwork, writing and performance." Punk was more than music or fashion, but a way of life that many youths flocked to for expression, community, and rebelling against societal expectations and demands. After a performance from the Sex Pistols in December 1976, punk would skyrocket from underground to the public consciousness and cause a bit of a moral panic.
Around the 80s, punk would spread out and people formed their own niches. Siouxsie and the Banshees leaned and explored into the macabre, and become one of the staple bands for goth. Crass and Poison Girls used their music for social critique, and protested war and pushed against 'the system.'
Although companies want to commodify punk and sell its nostalgia to those who were around during its peak, Worly says, "Punk’s negation was always best-used as a source of creativity; a means to reassemble and recreate; to build from the ruins." The core of punk is creativity, of rejecting capitalism and the mainstream, to pursue your own individual look and lifestyle.
However, although punk attracts people who don't fit in within regular society, does not negate that even within fringe, outsider communities tend to reflect the society around them.
In an article on the Museum of Youth Culture's site, the author of the article Sonia Long recalls her struggles of growing up a Black punk in 70s Nottingham. She discusess the everyday racism she encounters in her daily life where she recalls the N word being used in school, on TV, and even as a color marker for clothes at the women's fashion department section she was working it. Long states that "punk and anti-racism went hand in hand, with many punks aligning themselves with Left anti-racist politics." However, she would always be the only Black women when she sneaked out to go to gigs and pubs, and would encounter verbal abuse. She managed to enjoy the punk scene despite the casual racism.
Long says that some of the abuse she received came from Black people, who would say that she was "acting white." Long states, "You have to remember, no other Black person looked like me at that time. There were no Black women with spiky, dyed hair, nose rings and ear piercings, wearing painted biker jackets, ripped up clothes and doc martins." She still finds herself as the only Black person whenever she goes to a punk gig now. Long, however, finds the particular period of time in her youth shaped of herself immensely as a person, and that the punk scene is much more diverse now.