# Mercy Baby

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{{short description|American blues and R&B drummer (1930–1977)}}

'''Julius W. "Jimmy" Mullins''' (March 12, 1930 – September 10, 1977), who performed and recorded as '''Mercy Baby''', was an American [blues](/source/blues) and [rhythm and blues](/source/rhythm_and_blues) musician. A drummer, singer and songwriter, he recorded in the late 1950s.

He was born near [Rawls Springs](/source/Rawls_Springs%2C_Mississippi), [Forrest County, Mississippi](/source/Forrest_County%2C_Mississippi),<ref name=eagle>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6ZNfAQAAQBAJ&dq=%22mercy+baby%22+mullins+julius&pg=PA118  Bob L. Eagle, Eric S. LeBlanc, ''Blues: A Regional Experience'', ABC-CLIO, 2013, p.118]</ref> the son of Jessie and Jeff Mullins, a [nightwatchman](/source/Security_guard).<ref>[http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/2442/m-t0627-02021-00705/119489112?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3frank%3d1%26new%3d1%26MSAV%3d0%26msT%3d1%26gss%3dangs-g%26gsfn%3djulius%26gsln%3dmullins%26mswpn__ftp%3dForrest%2bCounty%252c%2bMississippi%252c%2bUSA%26mswpn%3d1049%26mswpn_PInfo%3d7-%257c0%257c1652393%257c0%257c2%257c3246%257c27%257c0%257c1049%257c0%257c0%257c%26msbdy%3d1930%26sbo%3d1%26uidh%3djq5%26pcat%3dROOT_CATEGORY%26h%3d119489112%26db%3d1940usfedcen%26indiv%3d1%26ml_rpos%3d1&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnRecord  1940 US Census, Forrest, Mississippi; Roll: T627_2021; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 18-21A. at ''Ancestry.com'']</ref><ref name=death>[http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/2272/33154_b063013-01818/408454?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3frank%3d1%26new%3d1%26MSAV%3d0%26msT%3d1%26gss%3dangs-g%26gsfn%3djulius%26gsln%3dmullins%26mswpn__ftp%3dForrest%2bCounty%252c%2bMississippi%252c%2bUSA%26mswpn%3d1049%26mswpn_PInfo%3d7-%257c0%257c1652393%257c0%257c2%257c3246%257c27%257c0%257c1049%257c0%257c0%257c%26msbdy%3d1930%26sbo%3d1%26uidh%3djq5%26pcat%3dROOT_CATEGORY%26h%3d408454%26recoff%3d8%2b9%2b50%26db%3dtxdeathcerts%26indiv%3d1%26ml_rpos%3d2&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnRecord  Death certificate, from Texas, Death Certificates, 1903–1982, ''Ancestry.com'']</ref>  By about 1948 he was living in [Dallas, Texas](/source/Dallas%2C_Texas).<ref name=death/>  He first recorded as a drummer on guitarist and singer [Frankie Lee Sims](/source/Frankie_Lee_Sims)' 1957 record, "What Will Lucy Do?", for [Ace Records](/source/Ace_Records_(United_States)). He continued to perform as a member of Sims' band,<ref name=marion>[http://home.earthlink.net/~v1tiger/FLSims.html J C Marion, "Some Texas Blues : Frankie Lee Sims and Mercy Baby", 2007]. Retrieved 18 May 2014</ref> and recorded with him until at least 1960.<ref name=wirz>[http://www.wirz.de/music/simsfrm.htm  Stefan Wirz, "Discography: Frankie Lee Sims"]. Retrieved 18 May 2014</ref>  Using the name Mercy Baby, he released two singles, "Marked Deck" and "Silly Dilly Woman", on the Ace label in 1957, both featuring Sims on guitar, followed by a 1958 single, "Pleadin'", on the [Ric](/source/Ric_Records) label.<ref>[http://koti.mbnet.fi/wdd/frankielee.htm  Frankie Lee Sims discography at WangDangDula.com]. Retrieved 18 May 2014</ref> He performed with Sims at [Al Benson](/source/Al_Benson)'s rock and roll show in Chicago in November 1957, on a bill with [Big Maybelle](/source/Big_Maybelle), [Screamin' Jay Hawkins](/source/Screamin'_Jay_Hawkins), [The Dells](/source/The_Dells) and others. His final recordings, "Love's Voodoo" in 1958 and "the Rock and Stomp" in 1959, were released on his own label in Dallas.<ref name=marion/>

He was married, and at the end of his life worked in property maintenance. He died in Dallas, aged 47, in the early hours of September 10, 1977, as a result of a gunshot wound to the neck received during an altercation, and was buried in Carver Memorial Park.<ref name=death/>

==Discography==
* "Marked Deck" / "Rock n' Roll Baby" (Ace 528, 1957)
* "Silly Dilly Woman" / "Mercy's Blues" (Ace 535, 1957)
* "Pleadin'" / "Don't Lie To Me" (Ric 955, 1958)
* "Love's Voodoo" /  "You Ran Away" (Mercy Baby 501, 1958)
* "The Rock and Stomp" / "So Lonesome" (Mercy Baby 502, 1959)
* "I Tried It" / "I Messed Up" (P&P 105, 1965)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riHauX-wgO8  1976 phone interview with Mercy Baby on KCLE 99 FM]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercy Baby}}
Category:1930 births
Category:1977 deaths
Category:People from Forrest County, Mississippi
Category:American blues singers
Category:African-American drummers
Category:20th-century American drummers
Category:American male drummers
Category:20th-century American male musicians
Category:20th-century African-American male singers
Category:20th-century American male singers
Category:20th-century American singers
Category:Drummers from Mississippi

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mercy Baby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy_Baby) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy_Baby?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.