Garnet Mimms

Last updated
Garnet Mimms
Birth nameGarrett Mimms
Born (1933-11-16) November 16, 1933 (age 90)
Ashland, West Virginia, U.S.
Genres Soul, rhythm & blues
Years active1953–1978
Labels United Artists, Veep, Verve, GSF, Arista, Evidence

Garnet Mimms (born Garrett Mimms, November 16, 1933) [1] is an American singer, influential in soul music and rhythm and blues. He first achieved success as the lead singer of Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters and is best known for the 1963 hit "Cry Baby", later recorded by Janis Joplin. According to Steve Huey at AllMusic, his "pleading, gospel-derived intensity made him one of the earliest true soul singers [and] his legacy remains criminally underappreciated."

Contents

Biography

Born in Ashland, West Virginia, United States, [1] Mimms grew up in Philadelphia, where he sang in church choirs and in gospel groups such as the Evening Stars and the Harmonizing Four. [1] He first recorded as a member of the Norfolk Four, for Savoy Records in 1953. [2] [3] He returned to Philadelphia after serving in the military and, after a spell in a doo-wop group, the Deltones, formed another group, the Gainors, in 1958, with Sam Bell, Willie Combo, John Jefferson, and Howard Tate. [1] The Gainors recorded several singles over the next few years for the Red Top, Mercury and Talley Ho labels, but failed to have any chart success. [1] Mimms and Bell left the group in 1961, and joined with Charles Boyer and Zola Pearnell to form Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters. [2] [4]

The group moved from Philadelphia to New York in 1963, [1] and began to work with the songwriter and record producer Bert Berns, who signed them to the United Artists label and teamed them with fellow songwriter and producer Jerry Ragovoy. [2] Dominic Turner wrote that "the partnership between the Enchanters on the one hand and Ragovoy and Berns on the other was very much an experiment in applying Mimms' gospel and deep soul roots to the new uptown soul in vogue in New York." [3] The new team had an immediate hit with "Cry Baby", written by Berns and Ragovoy, and with uncredited vocal backing by the Gospelaires, featuring Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, and Estelle Brown. [5] The song topped the R&B chart and went to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963. [1] It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. [4] The group followed it up with "For Your Precious Love," a cover of Jerry Butler and the Impressions' original, which hit the Billboard Top 30 later that year, as did the flip side, "Baby Don't You Weep." [2] Another hit recording with the Enchanters, "A Quiet Place", became a popular song among the Carolina beach music community. [6]

In 1964, Mimms left the Enchanters for a solo career; [1] with Sam Bell as lead vocalist, the group went on to have a minor hit with "I Wanna Thank You". [7] [8] Mimms continued to record for United Artists, and had several minor R&B hits over the next two years, including "One Girl" and a cover of the Jarmels' "A Little Bit of Soap." Some of his recordings at that time, including "It Was Easier to Hurt Her", "As Long As I Have You", and "Looking For You", [1] later became popular on the British Northern soul scene. [3] Berns and Ragovoy produced Mimms' final Top 40 hit in 1966, "I'll Take Good Care Of You", which climbed to number 15 in the R&B chart and number 30 in the Hot 100. [7] Mimms also released three albums on United Artists, As Long As I Have You (1964), I'll Take Good Care Of You and Warm and Soulful (both 1966). [9]

He moved to the UA subsidiary label Veep in 1966, releasing several singles including "My Baby", [1] later recorded by Janis Joplin and made the live setlist of the last edition of the Yardbirds and early Led Zeppelin, and the following year toured in the UK with Jimi Hendrix. An album, Garnet Mimms Live, was recorded with Scottish band the Senate (who featured drummer Robbie McIntosh, later of the Average White Band), and was released in the UK in 1967. [10] He continued to work with Ragovoy, and in 1968 started recording for Verve Records. [5] In 1968–69, Led Zeppelin performed an extended version of Mimms' "As Long As I Have You" on their UK and US tours. [11] Mimms' final recordings for several years were issued on the GSF label in 1972. [5]

In the late 1970s, he released a few funk songs under the name Garnet Mimms and the Truckin' Company. [1] He had his only hit in the UK at this time, when "What It Is", produced by Randy Muller of Brass Construction, reached number 44 for one week on the UK Singles Chart in June 1977. [12]

Mimms gave up his music career shortly afterwards. [1] He became a born-again Christian, [1] and in the 1980s found his calling ministering to lost souls as part of the New Jerusalem Prison Ministry. He later established the Bottom Line Revival Ministries, again ministering to prisoners. [13] In 2007 he returned to recording, and a year later released a new gospel album Is Anybody Out There? on the Evidence label, produced and (primarily) written by Jon Tiven.

Mimms was given a Pioneer Award in 1999 by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

Discography

Chart singles

YearTitleChart positions
US Pop [14] US
R&B [7] 		UK [15]
1963"Cry Baby"
Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters		41-
"For Your Precious Love"
Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters		26*-
"Baby Don't You Weep"
Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters		30*-
1964"Tell Me Baby"69*-
"One Girl"67*-
"A Quiet Place"
Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters		78*-
"Look Away"73*-
1965"A Little Bit of Soap"95*-
"It Was Easier to Hurt Her"124--
"That Goes to Show You"115--
1966"I'll Take Good Care Of You"3015-
"It's Been Such a Long Way Home"125--
"My Baby"132--
1977"What It Is"
Garnet Mimms & Truckin' Company		-3844

Note: * Billboard did not publish R&B chart in this period.

Related Research Articles

Bertrand Russell Berns, also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece of My Heart", "Here Comes the Night", "Hang on Sloopy", "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", and his productions include "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Under the Boardwalk".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnnie Taylor</span> American singer and songwriter (1934–2000)

Johnnie Harrison Taylor was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. He was initially successful at Stax Records with the number-one R&B hits "Who's Making Love" (1968), "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" (1971) and "I Believe in You " (1973), and reached number one on the US pop charts with "Disco Lady" in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freddie Scott</span> Musical artist

Freddie Scott was an American soul singer and songwriter. His biggest hits were "Hey, Girl", a top ten US pop hit in 1963, and "Are You Lonely for Me", a No. 1 hit on the R&B chart in early 1967.

The Elgins were an American vocal group on the Motown label, active from the late 1950s to 1967. Their most successful record was "Heaven Must Have Sent You", written and produced by the Holland–Dozier–Holland team, which was a hit in the US in 1966, and in the UK when reissued in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Tate</span> American singer-songwriter(1939–2011)

Howard Tate was an American soul singer and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Clay</span> American soul and gospel singer (1938–2001)

Judy Clay was an American soul and gospel singer, who achieved greatest success as a member of two recording duos in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Davis (singer)</span> Musical artist

Paul Lavon Davis was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his radio hits and solo career that started worldwide in 1970. His career encompassed soul, country, and pop. His most successful songs are 1977's "I Go Crazy", a No. 7 pop hit that once held the record for the longest chart run on the Billboard Hot 100, and 1982's "'65 Love Affair", which at No. 6 is his highest-charting single. Another pop hit, "Cool Night", was released in 1981. In the mid-1980s, he also had two No. 1 country hits as a guest vocalist on songs by Marie Osmond and Tanya Tucker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Little Bit of Soap</span> 1961 single by the Jarmels

"A Little Bit of Soap", written by Bert Berns, was a song, first sung in a bluesy soul style by the Jarmels, who reached number 12 with it in September 1961 and number 7 on the R&B charts. The song has been covered by many other artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baby Washington</span> American singer

Justine Washington, usually credited as Baby Washington, but credited on some early records as Jeanette (Baby) Washington, is an American soul music vocalist, who had 16 Billboard R&B chart entries in 15 years, most of them during the 1960s. Her biggest hit, "That's How Heartaches Are Made" in 1963, also entered the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

John William Bristol was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which he wrote an eponymous song. His composition "Love Me for a Reason" saw global success when covered by The Osmonds including a number 1 in the UK charts in 1974. His most famous solo recording was "Hang On in There Baby" recorded in 1974, which reached the Top Ten in the United States and number 3 in the United Kingdom. Both singles were in the UK top 5 simultaneously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marv Johnson</span> American singer and songwriter (1938–1993)

Marvin Earl Johnson was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist. He was influential in the development of the Motown style of music, primarily for the song "Come to Me," which was the first record issued by Tamla Records, the precursor to the famous label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaco Records</span> American record label founded 1962

Malaco Records is an American independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Mel Waiters, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, Latimore, Dorothy Moore, Little Milton, Shirley Brown, Tyrone Davis, Marvin Sease, and the Mississippi Mass Choir. It has received an historic marker issued by the Mississippi Blues Commission to commemorate its important place on the Mississippi Blues Trail.

Jordan "Jerry" Ragovoy was an American songwriter and record producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorraine Ellison</span> American singer-songwriter

Lorraine Ellison was an American soul singer and songwriter known for her recording of the song "Stay with Me" in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darrell Banks</span> American soul singer (1937–1970)

Darrell Banks was an American soul singer. He had a hit with 1966's "Open the Door to Your Heart".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stay with Me (Lorraine Ellison song)</span> 1966 single by Lorraine Ellison

"Stay with Me" is a soul song co-written by Jerry Ragovoy and George David Weiss. It was first recorded in 1966 by Lorraine Ellison, and produced by Ragovoy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lou Johnson (singer)</span> American singer and pianist (1941–2019)

Lou Johnson was an American soul singer and pianist who was active as a recording artist in the 1960s and early 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cry Baby (Garnet Mimms song)</span>

"Cry Baby" is a song originally recorded by Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters, in 1963, and later recorded by rock singer Janis Joplin in 1970. Bert Berns wrote the song with Jerry Ragovoy. Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters recorded it for the United Artists record label. It topped the R&B chart and went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963, paving the way for soul hits by Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding later in the decade. The third verse was spoken by Mimms until the repeated refrain of the repeated song title.

"I'll Take Good Care of You", written by Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy, is a song recorded by Garnet Mimms for United Artists in 1966. Though more obscure than the Berns/Ragovoy/Mimms song "Cry Baby", "I'll Take Good Care Of You" is another in their joint body of work.

<i>Cry Baby</i> (Garnet Mimms album) 1963 studio album LP by Garnet Mimms

Cry Baby is a 1963 album by Garnet Mimms featuring "Cry Baby" and 11 other hits produced by Jerry Ragovoy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1701/2. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Huey, Steve, Biography, AllMusic . Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Turner, Dominic, "Garnet Mimms", Black Cat Rockabilly. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p.  163. ISBN   0-214-20512-6.
  5. 1 2 3 Discography, SoulfulKindaMusic. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  6. ↑ Simmons, Rick, Carolina Beach Music: The Classic Years, The History Press, 2011, p. 117.
  7. 1 2 3 Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. p. 308.
  8. ↑ "The Enchanters* – I Wanna Thank You / I'm A Good Man" at Discogs.
  9. ↑ "Garnet Mimms", Discogs.com. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  10. ↑ "The Senate's Dundee Connection", Retro Dundee, September 23, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  11. ↑ Led Zeppelin Concert Setlists. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  12. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 368. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  13. ↑ Galligan, Matt, "GARNET MIMMS: Back To My Roots". Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  14. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955–2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p.  476. ISBN   0-89820-155-1.
  15. ↑ Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 518. ISBN   0-00-717931-6.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.