James & Bobby Purify were an R&B singing duo that originally comprised cousins James Purify and Robert Lee Dickey. It was these two who recorded their biggest hit, "I'm Your Puppet" in 1966. Dickey retired because of health problems at the end of the decade and James Purify re-recorded the song with a new "Bobby Purify," Ben Moore in 1976. This time, it was a hit in the UK peaking at #12 and also charting highly in The Netherlands.
Dewey "Spooner" Oldham and Dan Penn wrote the song with the latter also producing the track. Other hits penned by the pair include "Cry Like A Baby" by The Box Tops and "It Tears Me Up" by Percy Sledge. It was Penn who introduced Purify to Moore.
Speaking with The Tallahassee Democrat in 2000, Dickey admitted that he despised singing the song. "I hated it," he said. "It was originally intended to be the B-side. But things got changed ... I sang it for 23 hours straight (in the studio), that's why I hate it."
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