James (born May 12, 1944) and
Bobby (born September 2, 1939) of this Southern soul duo were not actually brothers but cousins.
James Purify and Robert Lee Dickey joined forces for some classic Southern soul duets during the mid-'60s. Producer
Papa Don Schroeder brought the soulful Floridians to Muscle Shoals in 1966 to record at
Rick Hall's Fame studios, and the result was the gorgeous mid-tempo "I'm Your Puppet." The
Dan Penn/
Spooner Oldham ballad proved their biggest hit for the Bell label, although "Let Love Come Between Us" and their revival of
the Five Du-Tones' "Shake a Tail Feather" also made some major noise in 1967. When
Bobby mutinied,
James went it alone for a while before recruiting a new
Bobby (
Ben Moore), and they picked up right where the old duo left off.
–
Bill Dahl, Rovi