Garnet Mimms (born Garrett Mimms, November 16, 1933) singer, influential in soul music and rhythm and blues.

Garnet Mimms

Garnet Mimms (n.1937, USA) cresce a Filadelfia, dove fa esperienza in gruppi gospel (Evening Stars, Norfolk Four). Con un amico d'infanzia, Sam Bell, nel 1959 passa  alla musica secolare e forma i Gainors, complesso che comprende anche Howard Tate; dopo alcuni 45 giri di scarso successo (Una parte è raccolta in SENSASIONAL NEW STAR, Guest Star 1963 USA). Nel 1961 il gruppo si scioglie. Bell contatta Jerry Ragovoy e forma gli Enchanters (con Mimms, Charles Boyer e Zola Pearnell), per la United Artists. La fortuna non si fa attendere; Cry Baby, un pezzo scritto da Bert Berns e da Ragovoy (che è anche il produttore), si fa largo nelle classifiche americane e impone il nome degli Enchanters. Seguono altre ballate soul che ben si adattano alla cristallina e incisiva voce di Garnet; fra queste For Your Precious Love, di Jerry Butler, contenuta come il precedente hit nell'eccellente CRY BABY AND 11 OTHER HITS (United Artists, 1963). Mentre gli Enchanters passano alla Warner Bros, Mimms inizia la carriera solistica, che frutta diversi 45 giri e almeno due album degni di attenzione, AS LONG AS I HAVE YOU (United Artists, 1964 USA) e I'LL TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOU (United Artists, 1966 USA). Con la seconda metà dei '60 viene meno peraltro il favore del pubblico e la qualità si abbassa; lo stesso produttore Ragovoy sembra meno interessato al personaggio. Alla fine del decennio Mimms incide un paio di 45 giri per la GSF e poi scompare praticamente dalle scene; anche il ritorno discografico di  HAS IT ALL (Arista, 1978 USA) si rivelerà infruttuoso.

Garnet Mimms (born Garrett Mimms, November 16, 1933) 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."   

Biography

Born in Ashland, West Virginia, Mimms grew up in Philadelphia, where he sang in church choirs and in gospel groups such as the Evening Stars and the Harmonizing Four. He first recorded as a member of the Norfolk Four, for Savoy Records in 1953. 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. 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. Mimms and Bell left the group in 1961, and joined with Charles Boyer and Zola Pearnell to form Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters.
The group moved from Philadelphia to New York in 1963, 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. 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." 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. The song topped the R&B chart and went to number4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.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." Another hit recording with the Enchanters, "A Quiet Place", became a popular song among the Carolina beach music community.
In 1964 Mimms left the Enchanters for a solo career; with Sam Bell as lead vocalist, the group went on to have a minor hit with "I Wanna Thank You". 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", later became popular on the British Northern soul scene. Berns and Ragovoy produced Mimms' final Top 40 hit in 1966, "I'll Take Good Care Of You", which climbed to #15 in the R&B chart and number 30 in the Hot 100. 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).
He moved to the UA subsidiary label Veep in 1966, releasing several singles including "My Baby", 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. He continued to work with Ragovoy, and in 1968 started recording for Verve Records. In 1968–69, Led Zeppelin performed an extended version of Mimms' "As Long As I Have You" on their UK and US tours. Mimms' final recordings for several years were issued on the GSF label in 1972.
In the late 1970s, he released a few funk songs under the name Garnet Mimms and the Truckin' Company. 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.
Mimms gave up his music career shortly afterwards. He became a born-again Christian, 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. 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

Year	Title	Chart positions
		US Pop	US R&B	UK
1963	"Cry Baby" Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters	4	1	-
	"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"	30	15	-
	"It's Been Such a Long Way Home"	125	-	-
	"My Baby"	132	-	-
1977	"What It Is" Garnet Mimms & Truckin' Company	-	38	44

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

 

 

GARNET MIMMS-CRY BABY - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuZZS3FHZAM

 

Lyrics

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

Cry cry baby, cry baby, cry baby,
Welcome back home.

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

Cry cry baby, cry baby, cry baby,
Welcome back home.

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,

Songwriters: Tom Russell / Jonathan Seymour / Romily Walden / Richard Waldron / Tom Lamb

Cry Baby lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Spirit /Global Talent Music

Artist: Garnet Mimms

Album: Cry Baby

Released: 1963

Genre: R&B/Soul

 

Garnett Mimms-For your precious love - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISDWz_bCXsQ

Lyrics

Your precious love
Means more to me than
Any love could ever be

For when I wanted you
I was so lonely and so blue
For that`s, that`s
What love will do

And, darling, I`m so surprised
Oh, when I first realized
That you, you were fooling me

And, darling, they say
That our love won`t grow
But I just want to tell them
That they don`t know

For as long as
You`re in love with me
Our love will grow wider
Deeper than any sea

Of all the things that I want
In this whole wide world
Is just for you to say
You`ll be my girl

And, ooh (wanting you)
While I was wanting you, girl
(I`m so lonely and blue)
For that`s, that`s
What love can do

And every night
(Wanting you)
(I`m so lonely and blue)
That I got to bed
I dream wonderful
Wonderful dreams of you

And, ooh (wanting you)
While I was wanting you...

Songwriters: Arthur Brooks / Jerry Butler / Richard Brooks

For Your Precious Love lyrics © Regent Music Corporation

Artist: Garnet Mimms

Released: 1995

Genre: R&B/Soul

 

 

Garnett Mimms Baby Don't You Weep - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNyzPnbBxpM

 

Lyrics

Baby, don't you weep
I said, baby, don't you weep
Baby, don't you weep

Said I'm not fooling this time
(Baby, don't you weep)
I'm not going to hurt you no more
(No more) no more (no more)

I said never (never)
I said never (never)
Never, never, never, never

Baby (don't you weep)
Come and get the
Love I offer you
(Baby, don't you weep)
I'll do anything you
Want me to
(Baby, don't you weep)

Not going to hurt you no more
(No more) no more (no more)

I said never (never)
I said never (never)
Never, never, never, never
Baby (don't you weep)

How many times
I've wanted to tell you
Exactly the way I feel
But I put you through
Some heartaches, baby
When I need you
Your love is real

And these tears
Falling from your eyes
Are the last you'll
Ever have to wipe away
So don't be afraid
To love me, darling
Cause I'm really here to stay
Believe me

Come on (yeah) come on
(Yeah) come on (yeah)
Come on (yeah) come on

Baby (don't you weep)
Come and get the
Love I offer you
(Baby, don't you weep)
I'll do anything you
Want me to
(Baby, don't you weep)

I'm not going to
Hurt you no more
(No more) no more (no more)
I said never (nor)
I said never (no)
Never, never, never, never
Baby (don't you weep)

Baby (don't you weep)
I don't want you to
Cry no more, darling
(Baby, don't you weep)...

Songwriters: B. Russell / N. Meade

Baby Don't You Weep lyrics © Sony/ATV Songs LLC, Bert Russell Music LLC, Rittenhouse Music Inc., SCREEN GEMS-EMI MUSIC INC, SLOOPY II, INC.

Artist: Garnet Mimms

Released: 1995

Genre: R&B/Soul

 

 

GARNET MIMMS-ONE GIRL - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab2C-vbjdTo

 

Lyrics

Said I want one girl
Oh, just one girl
That's all I need

Shouldn't there be someone
In this whole wide world
Who would be so happy
Just to be my girl

If I held her, she'd know
I'd never, never, never
Let her go

All I want is one girl
I said just one girl
Oh, just one girl
That's all I need

All my friends keep talking
Bout all the good times
How they keep on getting girls
With all those fast lines
But that's not for me

Oh, I, I just wanna be
In love with one girl
I said one girl
Oh, just one girl
That's all I need

If I held her, she'd know
I'd never, never, never
Let her go

All I want is one girl
I said just one girl
Oh, just one girl
That's all I need

I want to let the world know
I just want one girl
Oh, just one girl...

Songwriters: Bert Russell / Norman Meade

One Girl lyrics © Bert Russell Music LLC, Rittenhouse Music Inc.

Artist: Garnet Mimms

Album: As Long as I Have You

Released: 1964

Genre: Classic Soul

 

Garnet Mimms - I'll Take Good Care of You - 1966 - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_X9Aurrju0

 

Lyrics

I'll take good care of you
I'll take good care of you

I let you go, for what a fool I was
To hurt you so but now I know

All of the good times, big city sights
I had enough of bright party lights
They'll never make up
For long, lonely nights

Cause I need you, I need you
I need you, I need you
I need you and I promise that

I'll take good care of you
I'll take good care of you

Ain't it a crime
I know I've wasted
So much precious time
So much precious time

You gave me real love, beautiful poems
But I gave you nothing but heartache and pain
Baby, believe me, It won't happen again

Cause I need you, I need you
I need you, I need you
I need you and I promise that

I'll take good care of you
I'll take good care of you

Let me take away the pain, babe
I need you
And let me hide those teardrops
I need you

You know every day and every night
I need you
I'm gonna, I'm gonna stand by you

And I'll take good care of you
I'll take good care of you
I'll take good care of you

I'll Take Good Care Of You lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

Artist: Garnet Mimms

Released: 1995

Genre: R&B/Soul

Songwriter(s): Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy