Stronger than Eddie Bo....

My favorite of Mary Jane Hooper's tiny discography. Eddie Bo wrote it, produced it, helps out with the vocals, and undoubtedly plays the organ.

Sing it sister!

I can't put a finger on it...

Mary Jane Hooper, real name Sena Fletcher, recorded a handful of songs with Eddie Bo in the late sixties. As far as I know only five sides were released, rumors of another extant single notwithstanding...[has anyone actually ever seen a copy of, I've Got What You Need?]

I Feel A Hurt is the flip-side of, That's How Strong My Love Is, as issued on the World Pacific label. The original pressing on the Power/Power Pac label is backed by a version of Jeeanie C. Riley's, Harper Valley PTA.

I doubt anyone has ever said Hooper was the strongest singer in the world....but there is a quality to her voice, a vulnerability, that's very appealing.

I think of her as someone of limited talent who nonetheless gave her all when she sang....pushed her vocals as far as she possibly could.

In that way, I don't think the power of her recordings lies in her ability to express the feeling of a song, but more in the way she, herself, lays it all on the line.

Anyway....it's a beautiful song, written and produced by Eddie Bo.

My copy of the 45 is pretty rough, so sue me.