"Have Mercy Baby" is a popular

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 Billy Ward and Rose Marks, recorded by The Dominoes in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, produced by

Ralph Bass Ralph Basso Jr. (May 1, 1911 – March 5, 1997), known as Ralph Bass,The birth surname of Ralph Bass's paternal grandfather, who was born in Italy, was DuBasso. was an American rhythm-and-blues record producer and talent scout for several indepen ...

, and released by

Federal Records Federal Records was an American record label founded in 1950 as a subsidiary of Syd Nathan's King Records and based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was run by famed record producer Ralph Bass and was mainly devoted to Rhythm & Blues releases. The comp ...

in 1952. It was Number One on the

R&B Charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

for ten non consecutive weeks.

Description

Clyde McPhatter's roots were in the black church. The song is essentially the gospel song "Have Mercy, Jesus" sung in the

call-and-response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

style of a gospel quartet, although it is in the straight

twelve-bar blues The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on ...

form that gospel singers disdained. In the first chorus McPhatter simply follows the melody, but subsequently he freely improvises in the gospel style with short but spectacular

melisma Melisma ( grc-gre, μέλισμα, , ; from grc, , melos, song, melody, label=none, plural: ''melismata'') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referr ...

s, stringing out phrases to overlap the backup singers responses, interjecting screams and ''yeahs'', shouting a gospel

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

. The backup band lays down the rhythm and provides the expected tenor sax solo.

Impact

The Dominoes' version of "Have Mercy Baby" was the definitive rhythm and gospel record. Influenced by the group's lead singer

Clyde McPhatter Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pi ...

, its importance lies in that it was the first popular R&B recording highlighting passionate black

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

features.

Cover versions

Other significant recordings of the song were made by: *

The Bobbettes The Bobbettes were an American rhythm and blues, R&B girl group who had a 1957 Top 40, top 10 hit song called "Mr. Lee (song), Mr. Lee". The group initially existed from 1955 to 1974 and included Jannie Pought (1945–1980), Emma Pought (born 194 ...

(1960), whose version went to #66 on the Hot 100. *

The Rivingtons The Rivingtons were a 1960s doo-wop band, known for their 1962 novelty hit " Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow". The members were lead vocalist Carl White (June 21, 1932 - January 7, 1980), tenor Al Frazier (d. November 13, 2005), baritone Sonny Harris, and ba ...

(1962) *

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

(1964), whose version charted #92 Pop.White, Cliff (1991). "Discography". In ''Star Time'' (pp. 54–59) D booklet New York: PolyGram Records.

References

Billy Ward and his Dominoes songs Songs written by Billy Ward (singer) Songs written by Rose Marks 1952 singles 1965 singles James Brown songs 1952 songs Federal Records singles King Records (United States) singles {{1950s-R&B-song-stub