The Detroit Cobras signed with Sympathy for the Record Industry and released their first album, Mink, Rat or Rabbit, in 1998.

Their retro-garage rock formula proved popular in the UK and prompted the London-based Rough Trade Records[3] to sign the band.

Baby broke with the Cobras' tradition in that it included one original song, "Hot Dog (Watch Me Eat)".

In April 2018, they traveled to Europe (for the first time since 2004) to play two festivals in Germany and Spain, which led to an extended European tour in October and November 2019.

The Rachel Nagy celebration show in Detroit in late August 2022 went so well that the remaining members of her band — co-founder Mary Ramirez (guitar), Steve Nawara (guitar), Dale Wilson (bass), and Kenny Tudrick (drums) — are reuniting to perform a tribute set with a string of west coast dates.⁠