Background
He was born in Dothan, Alabama, and became the producer of the syndicated radio series Country Concert.
He was born in Dothan, Alabama, and became the producer of the syndicated radio series Country Concert.
"I Want My Baby Back" was originally issued on the Tollie label and reached #92 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1965. The song is a parody of teenage death records of that period, particularly The Shangri-Las hit "Leader of the Pack". lieutenant has since become a cult classic as a result of frequent airplay on the Doctor Demento show.
The singer narrates a traffic crash initially similar to the one described in J. Frank Wilson"s "Last Kiss", but is revealed to be another angle of the fatal crash at the climax of "Leader of the Pack".
The singer is the sole survivor, and his girlfriend was fatally dismembered by the impact ("Over there was my baby and over there was my baby and way over there was my baby"). After months of unabated grief, the distraught singer, in an apparent fit of insanity, decides that he is going to have his girl back "one way or another".
lieutenant also was included on The Rhino Brothers Present the World"s Worst Records, a 1983 collection of tasteless or poorly performed songs. Cross went on to record (as Jimmie Cross) "The Ballad of James Bong" (Tollie), "Hey Little Girl" (Red Bird) and "Super-Duper Manitoba" (Red Bird).
He died of a heart attack at the age of 39 in Hollywood.
He is buried at Forest Lawn, California.