Mamie Galore “Special Agent (34-24-38)”  (St. Lawrence 1004, 1965)

If any soul singer won the stage name sweepstakes, the once Mamie Louise Davis renaming herself Mamie Galore sure wins. Not only did Mamie pick a name to be reckoned with, she made her recording debut in 1965 with the most action hero of singles.

Why “Special Agent” didn’t take off on the R&B charts is beyond my understanding, but it was one of the earliest in a long list of “Double O-Soul” themed singles. Eclipsed by the Top 5 R&B hit of that name by Edwin Starr released the same summer, Galore’s bluesier take on this genre opened such doors like Jamo Thomas’s “I Spy (For The FBI) and other grittier, darker secret hunting love agent numbers to come through the rest of the decade.

Mamie’s continually piquant pipes would continue to record through 1969, including an upgrade deal with Imperial Records in 1968 that saw her paired with Big Dee Irwin. Nonetheless, despite her assertive, empowering debut, she didn’t make a lasting impression on the charts, but her discography is a wonderful slice of variety in Sixties Soul music.