Oh Baby Don't You Weep

Oh Baby Don't You Weep was a R&B hit by James Brown & The Famous Flames recorded in 1963 and released in January of 1964 on King Records K5842. A powerful, gospel-infused song based on a actual gospel number,The Davis Sisters' "Oh Mary Don't You Weep", it became a Billboard chart hit, just missing the Pop Top 20 , peaking at # 23 .(Billboard didn't publish a separate R&B listing during this period). Like many Brown/Famous Flames songs during this time, it was an extended track, taking up both sides of the original single release (Pt 1 & Pt 2) , and was issued with dubbed - in audience noise to simulate a live recording. "Oh Baby Don't You Weep" was taken from , (or added to} an actual live album, " Pure Dynamite: Live At The Royal, King Records K883 , which reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Pop Album chart, and was the follow-up to their first live LP, the million-selling "Live At The Apollo (1963 album)". Featuring tight harmonies by Famous Flames Bobby Byrd, Bobby Bennett, and Lloyd Stallworth, Brown plays the role of 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", while The Flames chant "Oh baby, don't you weep" in the background. Then the song's theme suddenly changes , as Brown sings of famous entertainers he's 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"), Wilson Pickett ("If You Need Me....Call Me), Ray Charles ("Born To Lose")and even group member Bobby Byrd's solo release ( "I Found Out Now"}. Oh Baby Don't You Weep has rarely been heard on radio since it's original 1964 release. It appeared on LP and CD on King/Polydor release "Roots Of A Revolution" in it's originally recorded version, (without the dubbed-in crowd noise), and in the 2007 Hip-O select release : James Brown: The Singles Vol. 2.

Personel: James Brown:lead vocals and piano with The Famous Flames: Bobby Byrd, Bobby Bennett, Lloyd Stallworth Reference: James Brown: The Godfather Of Soul,pg 140 & 145 Music by The James Brown Band.