Thursday, July 4, 2019

60's Hit Song Review: "I Want My Baby Back" by Jimmy Cross (1965)


U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position No. 92 (Released in December of 1964, didn't peak until in February of '65)

Backstory: Cross was born on November 17th, 1938 in Dothan, Alabama. This single was his only single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking near the bottom of the Hot 100. It's a rather shocking and tasteless novelty song, making fun of teenage tragedy songs such as, "The Leader of the Pack", which is even mentioned in this song's lyrics. The song also includes realistic sound effects, and overall tells the story of a man who goes crazy over the death of his girlfriend and decides to join her in her grave. Cross would later release some more singles off of the Tollie Records label, and short lived ones, such as Chicken, a sub-label of Tollie. He also released songs such as "Super Duper Man" and "Hey Little Girl" off of the Red Bird label. Cross sadly died in 1978, just a month short of celebrating his 40th birthday as the result of a heart attack.

The review: This is hilarious over the top tastelessness at its best! Love this crazy novelty tune! Obviously, I am not surprised it stalled so low, but I could just imagine the reaction of all of the listeners of this tune on the radio at the time! Cross's legacy will definitely live on here! Just crazy tasteless brilliance! And since it's meant to be bad and godawful, it wouldn't be fair to give it a "bad" rating, so...

Final rating :10/10

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