Oh Baby Don't You Weep

"Oh Baby Don't You Weep" is a song recorded in 1964 by James Brown and The Famous Flames. Based upon the spiritual "Mary Don't You Weep", it was released as a two-part single on King Records K5842 and peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. (At the time of the single's release, Billboard's R&B singles chart had been temporarily suspended). The song was recorded as an extended-length track, and broken up into two parts on the original 7-inch vinyl single release. "Oh Baby, Don't You Weep" was originally issued with dubbed-in audience noise to simulate a live recording and added to the authentic live album Pure Dynamite: Live At The Royal.

Brown plays the role of the song's narrator, a man comforting a woman devastated by lost love:

"You scream and you holler,

your back is soaking wet,

You know that you still love him

and still you can't forget"

The Famous Flames support Brown's lead vocal with gospel-inspired chants of "Oh baby, don't you weep". During the course of the song, the theme suddenly changes, as Brown sings of famous entertainers he has met in his travels ("I've got a lot of friends in my business"), and then begins to quote titles of songs recorded by them, such as Jackie Wilson ("You Better Stop Dogging Me Around"), Solomon Burke and Wilson Pickett ("If You Need Me....Call Me" and "It's Too Late"), Sam Cooke ("You Send Me") Ray Charles ("Born To Lose") and even Famous Flames member Bobby Byrd's solo release ("I Found Out Now").

"Oh Baby Don't You Weep", despite its hit status, has rarely been heard on radio since its original 1964 release. It appeared on LP and CD on the King/Polydor release Roots of a Revolution in its originally recorded version without the dubbed-in crowd noise, and in the 2007 Hip-O Select release James Brown: The Singles Vol. 2. It has inspired a cover version by Eddie Money.

Personnel

• James Brown: lead vocals and piano
• with The Famous Flames: Bobby Byrd, Bobby Bennett, Lloyd Stallworth – backing vocals

• Music by: The James Brown Band

References

• Brown, J. & Tucker, B. (1986). James Brown: The Godfather of Soul. Thunder's Mouth Press: New York. ISBN 0-025-17430-4 . Pg 140 and 145.