"Annie Had a Baby" is a 1954

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

song written by

Henry Glover Henry Bernard Glover (May 21, 1921 – April 7, 1991) was an American songwriter, arranger, record producer and trumpet player. In the music industry of the time, Glover was one of the most successful and influential black executives. He gain ...

(co-credited to Lois Mann) and recorded by

The Midnighters The Midnighters were an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan. They were an influential group in the 1950s and early 1960s, with many Rhythm and blues, R&B hit records. They were also notable for launching the career of lead singer Hank B ...

. The single was one of many answer songs to "

Work With Me, Annie "Work with Me, Annie" is a 12-bar blues song with words and music by Hank Ballard. It was recorded by Hank Ballard & the Midnighters (formerly The Royals) in Cincinnati on the Federal Records label on January 14, 1954, and released the following m ...

", a previous hit for The Midnighters. "Annie Had a Baby" was also a number one hit on the R&B chart. A credible inspiration for this song was when a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

DJ played "Work With Me, Annie" then joked about a follow-up record titled "Annie Had a Baby" which caused King Records to receive orders for the then non-existing single. So the song was composed, recorded and released to fill the orders.

References

1954 songs Answer songs Hank Ballard songs The Midnighters songs Songs written by Henry Glover 1954 singles Songs written by Syd Nathan Joan Baez songs Ike & Tina Turner songs Federal Records singles {{1950s-R&B-song-stub