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Carl Hugo Grimm was born in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1890. After moving to Cincinnati as a child, he began to study music (piano, organ, theory) with his father. He received his early general education in the Cincinnati public schools. In 1905, he began teaching organ and piano and held the following positions as an organist and choir director in Cincinnati: Immanuel Reformed Church, 1907-12; Reading Road Temple, 1910-22; Mt. Auburn Baptist Church, 1912-24; Isaac M. Wise Temple, 1922-?; Mt Auburn Presbyterian Church, 1924-27; and Knox Presbyterian Church, 1938- 52. He was head of the composition department at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music from 1931 until 1952. From 1944 until 1952 he also served as conductor of the Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in music from the Cincinnati Conservatory in 1930. He died in Cincinnati in 1978.
He was largely self-taught in composition and orchestration but did receive some formal instruction from Edgar Stillman-Kelley in composition, and Frank Van der Stucken in orchestration. His works were respected and widely played during his lifetime. His orchestral compositions were performed by many major orchestras, including those of Cincinnati, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Rochester. His compositions include an Erotic Poem for orchestra (1927) (winner of the $1,000 prize of the National Federation of Music Clubs), Thanatopsis for orchestra (1928), Abraham Lincoln for orchestra (1930), Montana for orchestra (1943), An American Overture (1946), Trumpet Concerto (1948), Symphony in F minor (1950), Pennsylvania Overture (1954), Gothic Mass (1970), Byzantine Suite for ten instruments, many anthems, songs, and organ pieces. His Song of Songs for chorus won the MacDowell Prize of $1,000 in 1931. The Gorno Memorial Music Library holds an example of his work, the Capriccio Cromatico , for flute and piano, edited by Robert Cavally, and published by the Southern Music Company in 1981.