I was initially confused when I read the recent obituary of Bobby Purify, one-half of James & Bobby Purify, the duo that had a big hit in 1966 with Dan Penn's "I'm Your Puppet." First of all, there seemed to be two Bobby Purifys--one born Robert Dickey, the other born Ben Moore. Turned out that Dickey (right) was the original Bobby Purify. He took on the surname of his cousin James Purify when they teamed up. According to the obit: "Dickey abandoned his music career in 1972, and was replaced in the duo by Ben Moore, who became the new 'Bobby Purify.' Mr. Dickey returned to Tallahassee, where he became a city maintenance supervisor. But he continued to sing and play guitar with his church and as a member of the Bethlehem Male Singers."
But while the cousins were together, they had a nice little string of hits, though Dickey wasn't crazy about the song that brought them fame: “I hated it,” he said of "I'm Your Puppet," which he noted had originally been intended as a B-side. Recalling the grueling recording session, he explained, “I sang it for 23 hours straight; that’s why I hate it.”
So, as a tribute of sorts to Dickey, here's another one of their hits:
Download 09 Let Love Come Between Us
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