Grateful Dead Family Discography: Annie Had A Baby

Annie Had A Baby

Composer: Sydney Nathan (aka Lois Mann) / Henry Bernard Glover

Performed once by Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders in 1971.

The original Midnighters recording of the song reached number 1 in the R&B charts and 23 in the pop charts. On recordings writing credits are often given as Hank Ballard but the song was written by Sydney Nathan, the owner of the King/Federal/DeLuxe group of record labels, and Henry Glover, an arranger and trumpeter.

In 1953 The Royals, featuring Hank Ballard, had a hit with Work With Me Annie. Annie Had A Baby was written as a follow up for the Royals who by then, to avoid confusion with other groups, had changed their name to The Midnighters. The popularity and notoriety (due to the obvious sexually innuendo of the lyrics) of Work With Me Annie led to a number of other Annie songs from a number of performers. An associated group of Henry songs was instigated by a Roll With Me Henry by Etta James. A list of other Annie songs is given at the bottom of this page.

Hank Ballard and The Midnighters

no info Single (Annie Had A Baby / She's The One), The Midnighters, 1954
Their Greatest Hits, The Midnighters, 1956
no info Greatest Jukebox Hits, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, 1958
no info Rock and Roll Revue, Volume 2, Various Artists (Hank Ballard and The Midnighters), 1959
no info Hank Ballard Biggest Hits, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, 1963
no info Risky Blues, Various Artists (The Midnighters), 1971
no info Single (Annie Had A Baby / Teardrops On Your Letter), Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, 1972
no info Single (Work With Me Annie / Annie Had A Baby), Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, 1975
no info Old King Gold Volume 7, Various Artists (Hank Ballard and The Midnighters), 1975
no info 20 Original Greatest Hits, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, 1977
no info Live At The Palais, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, 1987
no info Let Em Roll, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, 1990
Sexy Ways, The Best of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, 1993
no info Shagger's Delight, Vol. 2: Twenty Rhythm and Blues Classics, Various Artists (The Midnighters), 1994
no info All 20 Of Their Chart Hits, 1952-1963), Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, 1995
no info Greatest Hits, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, 1996
no info Risque Blues: Big 10 Inch Record, Various Artists (Hank Ballard and The Midnighters), 1996
no info The EP Collection Plus, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, 2000
no info Life's a Beach, Vol. 2, Various Artists (The Midnighters), 2000
no info The Very Best of, The Royals and The Midnighters, 2001
no info The King Anthology Of Risque Blues, Various Artists (The Midnighters), 2002
no info The Best Of The Best, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, 2003
no info The R&B Years 1954, Various Artists (The Midnighters), 2005
no info 100 Rhythm & Blues Classics, Various Artists (The Midnighters), 2005
no info Sexy Ways, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, 2006
no info The Best of Rhythm and Blues: Hits 1954-1955, Various Artists (The Midnighters), 2006
no info Doo Wop Classics: Only You, Various Artists (The Midnighters), 2006
no info Chart Toppin' Doo Wop, Vol. 2, Various Artists (The Midnighters), 2007
no info Tore Up Over You, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, 2008
Nothing But Good: 1952-1962, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, 2009
Come on and Get It: The Singles Collection 1954-1959, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, 2010

Other recordings

no info Memories of Those Oldies but Goodies, Volume 1, Little Caesar and The Romans, 1961
Joan Baez in San Francisco, Joan Baez, 1964
no info But, Anyhow, Teegarden and Vanwinkle, 1970
no info Very Soulful, Willie and the Mighty Magnificents, 1972
no info Let Me Touch Your Mind, Ike & Tina Turner, 1973
no info Live! The World of, Ike & Tina Turner, 1973
no info Roadhouses and Dance Halls, Lonnie Mack, 1988
no info The Many Moods of, Percy Milem, 1994
no info Toga Toga Toga, Little Caesar and The Romans, 1998
no info Eyes Wide Open, Blue Lunch, 1999
no info Play That Funky Beat, Willie & the Mighty Magnificents, 2000
no info Rocket 69, Ronnie Lane, 2001
no info Lucky Seven, Ronnie Lane, 2002
no info Ain't No One Like, Ronnie Lane, 2003
no info Colossus of Destiny, The Master Plan, 2004
no info Cambria Hotel, Peter Tork and the Shoe Suede Blues, 2007
no info Watcha Gonna Do, The Medallions, 2009
no info The Mojo Albums, Billy Riley, 2010
no info Workin' Together/Let Me Touch Your Mind, Ike & Tina Turner, 2011

Other Annie songs

Other Annie song include;

Annie Pulled A Hum-Bug, Annie's Aunt Fannie and Henry's Got Flat Feet by the Midnighters
Annie's Answer by the El Dorados
I'm The Father Of Annie's Baby by Danny Taylor
My Name Ain't Annie by Linda Hayes with the Platters
Annie Kicked The Bucket by the Nu-Tones
Annie Is Back by Little Richard
The Wallflower (Roll With Me Henry) and Hey, Henry! by Etta James
Annie Met Henry by the Cadets
Dance With Me Henry by Georgia Gibbs