Garnet Mimms Lives!
This week’s “Weekly Whatever” is Fresh Air interviewer Terry Gross talking with rock historian Ed Ward about Garnet Mimms, who made music history in 1963 with “Cry, Cry, Baby.”
This 10-minute audio interview is really fun to listen to: I hadn’t heard that great “Cry, Cry, Baby” hook in decades. Plus there are long clips from at least three of Mimm’s lesser hits.
Maybe you are more familiar with Janis Joplin’s 1971 version. She did a terrific cover; both she and Mimms are raw, screamers, and just wild.
BG: Mimms started his career as a gospel singer, and today he is an ordained minister and only sings religious songs.
If you are a Boomer of a certain age, or a fan of gospel-influenced early rock, or just want to be hear a song that captured a moment in time, you’ll like this a lot.
Here’s the Janis Joplin version