Song · Janis Joplin
“Cry Baby” by Janis Joplin
From the album Pearl (1971)
“Cry Baby” by Janis Joplin appears on 6 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 2001 and 2023. It was first released in 1971 on the album Pearl. Its best result is #202 on the WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #4,062 indie & aaa song of all time.
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Janis Joplin cut "Cry Baby" in 1970, and it came out on Pearl in January 1971: a Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy soul number that Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters had recorded first, back in 1963. Joplin takes it by the throat.
Paul A. Rothchild produced it with Phil Macy engineering, and the band cooks behind her: John Till on guitar, Richard Bell on piano, Ken Pearson on organ, Brad Campbell on bass and Clark Pierson on drums, with Bobbye Hall sitting in on congas and bongos and Sandra Crouch on tambourine. The backing chorus is a crowd, too: most of the band, Joplin herself, and Phil Badella, John Byrne Cooke and Vince Mitchell.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1009 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2002 | 728 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) | 923 |
| 2004 | 727 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) | 923 |
| 2012 | 202 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) | 885 |
| 2022 | 515 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2023 | 757 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
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