Mimms grew up in Philadelphia, where he sang in gospel music groups such as the Evening Stars, the Harmonizing Four, and the group with which he would record his first record in 1953, the Norfolk Four. He returned to Philadelphia after serving in the military and formed doo-wop group, the Gainors in 1958.
In 1961, Mimms and Sam Bell from the Gainors left to form a new group, Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters, with Zola Pearnell and Charles Boyer. The group moved to New York and began to work with the songwriter and record producer, Bert Berns. Berns signed them to the United Artists label and wrote the hit, "Cry Baby" for them with songwriting partner Jerry Ragovoy. The song topped the R&B chart and went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.
Mimms and the group had a follow-up double sided hit, "For Your Precious Love" and "Baby Don't You Weep", both tracks entering the Billboard Top 30, before he went solo in 1964. In 1966, Berns and Ragavoy produced another big hit for Mimms, "I'll Take Good Care Of You", which climbed to #15 in the R&B chart and #30 in the Hot 100. He worked with Jimi Hendrix in the UK the following year. He did some recording on the MGM and Verve labels. In 1969, Led Zeppelin performed an extended version of Mimms' "As Long As I have You" at various stops on their U.S tour.
In the 1970s, he released a few funk songs as Garnet Mimms and the Truckin' Co. He had his only hit in the United Kingdom at this time, when "What It Is" reached number 44 for one week on the UK Singles Chart in June 1977.
Mimms was given a Pioneer Award in 1999 by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
In the 1980s, Garnet found his calling ministering to lost souls in prison, but in 2007, 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.
Cry Baby
Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cry cry baby, cry baby, cry baby,
Welcome back home.
Now he told you, that he loved you much more than I
But he left you and you don't you just don't know why
And when you don't know what to do
You come running and
[Chorus]
Well I can always lose,
Don't you know nobody can love you the way that I do
Take the pain and the heartache too
Ah honey you know that I'll be around
When you need to
[Chorus]
Welcome back home
I've spent so many nights
Just waiting for you to come walking through that door
And even tho you've made a fool of me so many times before
I know that all it takes is just the sight of your face
To make me realize that I will always love you darlin
And I can see that you got some more tears to shed
I can see it baby, cause your eyes, your eyes are getting red
So c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon c'mon
Cry cry baby, cry baby, cry baby,
Cry cry baby, cry baby, cry baby,
The song "Cry Baby" by Garnet Mimms and The Enchanters is a classic soulful ballad that explores the feelings of heartbreak and longing. The chorus of the song repeats the words "Cry cry baby, cry baby, cry baby, welcome back home" which can be interpreted as a plea to the subject of the song to come back and allow themselves to be vulnerable, to cry and to come back to the comfort of a familiar relationship. The verses of the song describe the singer's love for the subject and the pain of the subject leaving, and how they will always be there for the subject, even when they make mistakes.
The second verse of the song particularly highlights the singer's devotion to the subject, singing "Don't you know nobody can love you the way that I do, take the pain and the heartache too, ah honey you know that I'll be around when you need to." Despite the subject leaving and hurting the singer, they still love them and are willing to go through the pain again and again in order to be with them.
Overall, "Cry Baby" is a powerful and emotive song that explores the complexities of love and the pain of heartbreak. The repetition of the chorus creates a sense of longing and desperation, while the verses provide a deeper understanding of the singer's love for the subject.
Line by Line Meaning
Cry cry baby, cry baby, cry baby, Welcome back home.
You can always cry on my shoulder because I'll always be here for you.
Now he told you, that he loved you much more than I But he left you and you don't you just don't know why And when you don't know what to do You come running and
He may have said he loved you more, but he left you and you don't understand why. When you need help, you always come running back to me.
Well I can always lose, Don't you know nobody can love you the way that I do Take the pain and the heartache too Ah honey you know that I'll be around When you need to
I'm willing to risk being hurt because nobody loves you the way I do. I'll be here to comfort you through the pain and heartache.
I've spent so many nights Just waiting for you to come walking through that door And even tho you've made a fool of me so many times before I know that all it takes is just the sight of your face To make me realize that I will always love you darlin And I can see that you got some more tears to shed I can see it baby, cause your eyes, your eyes are getting red
I've waited for you countless times and you've hurt me before, but just seeing your face reminds me of how much I love you. I can tell you have more tears to shed because your eyes are getting red.
So c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon c'mon Cry cry baby, cry baby, cry baby, Cry cry baby, cry baby, cry baby,
So go ahead and cry, cry, cry. I'll be here to comfort you every step of the way.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TOM RUSSELL, JONATHAN SEYMOUR, ROMILY WALDEN, RICHARD WALDRON, TOM LAMB
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marina Arellanes
One of the greatest classics out there.....🎹🎼🎤🎼❤️🎶❤️🎶❤️
Paul Cadogan
Great tune. I was a fan in the day and it remains brilliant.
Frederick Martin
An amazing song! Soulful and truly inspiring. Nothing like it today.
Ce1949Ce
This music is the truth
Helen Rigmaiden
Back in the mid 60s this song was played at the end of our sock hops and parties or school dances. The best slow dance music ever!!
BrokeNdisAbled
Grrrrllll…I had 80s RnB … and I AGREE WITH YOU!!!!
I love doowop n mowtown n Goldie’s
John Giovine
I've not heard this is ages...what a truly fine voice.
Adrian Cutner
This REALLY takes me back! Thanks for posting! For those of us who remember how this song affected us when it first came out, the memories remain SOLIDLY INTACT!
Joey Gagliardi
Wow,,,,,,,,, what Music,,, was just a baby myself,, but now realize why my Mom had all this great Music playing all the time. These are truly gifted artists. RIP MA,,
Jenny Gibbons
Each note hit on target and smooth as butter; every syllable clear as crystal. Thanks for the memory. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾