James And Bobby Purify
James & Bobby Purify were an R&B/soul duo best known for their 1966 hit "I'm Your Puppet." The act featured James Purify and two different singers as "Bobby Purify" over the years. They achieved significant success in the 1960s before lineup changes and later revivals.
James Lee Purify was born on May 12, 1944, in Pensacola, Florida, and died on January 23, 2021, in the same city from COVID-19 complications. His initial partner, Robert Lee Dickey (born September 2, 1939, in Tallahassee, Florida), was a cousin who adopted the "Purify" stage name; Dickey, a former guitarist with the Dothan Sextet, passed away on December 29, 2011. The duo formed in 1965 and signed with Bell Records under producer Don Schroeder.
Their signature song, "I'm Your Puppet" (written by Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn), was released in September 1966, topping the US R&B chart, reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and selling over a million copies. Follow-up singles included "Wish You Didn't Have to Go," a remake of "Shake a Tail Feather," "Sixteen Tons," and "Let Love Come Between Us". They released albums like James and Bobby Purify (1967) and The Pure Sound of the Purify's (1968) on Bell.
Dickey retired in 1971 due to health issues, returning to Tallahassee where he worked in city maintenance and with church groups like the Bethlehem Male Singers. Ben Moore (born August 7, 1941, in Atlanta, Georgia), who had backed Otis Redding and James Brown, replaced him and performed as James & Bobby Purify into the 1980s. A 1976 re-release of "I'm Your Puppet" hit #12 in the UK, leading to the album You and Me Together Forever (1978) on Casablanca Records.
Moore went solo as Bobby Purify, releasing Purified (1979) on Mercury/Casablanca, faced blindness from glaucoma in 1998 but returned with encouragement from Ray Charles, issuing Better to Have It (2005) and joining the Blind Boys of Alabama. James Purify largely stepped back from music after the duo's peak. A 2002 compilation, Shake a Tail Feather!, revisited their catalog.
You and Me Together Forever
Written-By – Dan Penn, Roger Hawkins 2:39
A2 All The Love I Got
Written-By – B. Gordy, B. Holland, J. Bradford 2:53
A3 A Man Can't Be A Man Without A Woman
Written-By – George Soule, Tommy Brasfield 2:45
A4 You Talk Too Much
Written-By – Jones, Hall 2:24
A5 Do Your Thing
Written-By – I. Hayes 2:15
B1 Silly Little Girl
Written-By – Joe South 2:27
B2 I Need Love
Written-By – Dave Prater, Sam Moore 3:10
B3 Still Thinking 'Bout You
Written-By – Bobby Woods, Johnny Christopher 2:28
B4 Why Love
Written-By – B. Emmons 2:34
B5 You And Me Together Forever
Written-By – J. Roach 2:28
Label:
Casablanca – NBLP 7011
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1975
Genre: R&B Soul
Style: Seventies Soul, Southern Soul, Disco
The 1975 album You & Me Together Forever features the second iteration of the soul duo, with singer Ben Moore (the new "Bobby Purify") joining James Purify. The album showcases a blend of funk and soul and is generally considered a solid, if not critically heavily reviewed, collection of tracks.
The music style leans toward classic Southern Soul, with Moore's "world weary, old school voice" providing an evocative vessel for stories about love and relationships. While some later recordings by the duo occasionally suffered from more "middle of the road" arrangements, the album is generally appreciated by fans of the genre.
The album includes a number of original songs and covers that highlight the duo's strong harmonies and production style.
"You And Me Together Forever": The title track, also released as a single in 1975, is a key song that captures the classic soul sound of the era.
"I Can't Stop," "All The Love I Got," and "A Man Can't Be A Man Without A Woman": These tracks contribute to the album's cohesive soul feel, celebrating themes of love and connection.
"Do Your Thing": This song was previously released as a single in 1974 and was a charting R&B hit, which speaks to the album's quality material.
The album is highly regarded by soul enthusiasts for its authentic sound, particularly the Ben Moore-era vocals and instrumentation that evokes late 1960s Muscle Shoals soul when "everything comes together".
It is considered a worthwhile record for collectors and fans of the funk/soul genre, often praised in seller descriptions and user forums for its quality.