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It’s quite ironic to think that with a name like ‘Love’ you would ever find yourself Born To Live With Heartache, but this was the case for Mary Love in her rare soul/funk classic from 1971! This rare classic was released on the Sacremento, CA Elco label and is currently fetching in the realms of £800 if you are lucky enough to find a copy!!!!
With a voice of fire she sets this track ablaze and her pained hollers seemingly require no effort to soar into these dizzying heights!! The vocals definitely match this big, big song!
Born Mary Ann Varney in 1943, Mary Love Cromer (a.k.a Mary Love) was known for her soulful vocals and gospel singing! After being discovered by Sam Cooke’s manager, she began singing on sessions in Los Angeles before recording her first single for the Modern record label in 1965. Later records for the label met with little success until the single Move a Little Closer made No. 48 on the R&B chart in 1966.
Her recordings for Modern (some of which were issued in the UK) became popular on the English Northern soul scene, but after releasing her 1968 hit, Josie, she made fewer and fewer recordings. It wasn’t until the early 1980’s that she re-emerged singing gospel-flavoured soul as Mary Love Cromer!
In Born To Live With Heartache Love asks, “Why oh why must I suffer/Suffer this way/ When all/All I do each day/Is love him, love him, love him……” ….Mary Love’s suffering is truly our salvation, for this song reaches into the soul and pleads with the heart! It’s a little cracker!
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