Garnet Mimms is the guy who sang the original version of Cry Baby, better known (to me, at least) for Janis Joplin’s overwrought version, back in 1963.

The following year he lent his impassioned soul voice – often compared to Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson – to this more R&B-flavoured song, As Long As I Have You. And since then it’s become a Northern Soul classic.

Raised in Philadelphia, Mimms began singing in church as a boy and during his teens he performed with several gospel groups, including The Norfolk Four, with whom he cut his first record in 1953.

After military service he returned to Philly in 1958 and formed a doo wop quintet called The Gainors, whose ranks included Sam Bell and Howard Tate (later an acclaimed solo singer).

When they failed to have a hit, he put together a new group, Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters, with Bell, Charles Boyer and Zola Pearnell and headed to New York.

There they met songwriter/producers Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy, got themselves a record deal – and finally found success with Cry Baby in 1963.

A cover of this song, released the following year, became the debut single in 1965 for Newcastle R&B band The Junco Partners – briefly tipped to follow in the footsteps of The Animals – and Cambridge outfit The Boston Crabs.

As for Mimms, his only UK hit did not arrive until 1977 when What It Is, produced by Randy Muller of Brass Construction, reached No.44 for a single week in June.

Mimms gave up his music career shortly afterwards and became a born-again Christian, saving lost souls as part of the New Jerusalem Prison Ministry before establishing his own Bottom Line Revival Ministries, again ministering to prisoners.

In 2007 he returned to recording, and a year later released a new gospel album. He’s still alive at the age of 90.