"I'm Your Puppet" is a song written by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham; the best known version is the one recorded by James & Bobby Purify which reached #5 on the US R&B chart and #6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1966. The single was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1967. The song was featured on their 1967 album, ''James & Bobby Purify''. The duo released a re-recorded version as a single in 1976 which reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart and #20 in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. In Canada, it reached #4. Papa Don Enterprises produced the song, and it was arranged by Penn and Don Schroeder. The single ranked #46 on the ''Billboard'' Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1966.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other charting versions

* Cam-Pact released a version of the song as the B-side to their 1968 single "Drawing Room". Their version charted regionally in Australia, reaching #17 in Melbourne and #26 in Brisbane. * Dianne Leigh released a version of the song as a single in 1970 which reached #32 on the Canadian country chart. *

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

released a version of the song as a single in 1972 which reached #113 on the US pop chart. It was featured on her 1969 album, '' Soulful''. *

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer, businessman, actor, and musician. Among his hits are " Room Full of Roses", " Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time", and “ Lonely Nights”. ...

released a version of the song as a single in 1988 which reached #49 on the US country chart.

Other versions

*Penn released the original version of the song as a single in 1965. *

Sam & Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (1935–2025) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", " ...

released a version of the song on their 1966 album, ''Double Dynamite''. * Sandy Posey released a version of the song as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to her 1967 single " Don't Touch Me". * Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band released a version of the song on their 1967 EP ''Different Strokes''. * The Box Tops released a version of the song on their 1967 album ''

The Letter/Neon Rainbow ''The Letter/Neon Rainbow'' is the debut album by American rock band the Box Tops, released in 1967. Following " The Letter" reaching number one on the singles charts, ''The Letter/Neon Rainbow'' was quickly assembled for a follow-up. The album ...

''. *

Dandy Livingstone Dandy Livingstone (born Robert Livingstone Thompson, 14 December 1943) is a British Jamaican, British-Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae musician and record producer, best known for his 1972 hit record, hit "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", and fo ...

released a version of the song as a single in 1969. *

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

and Tammi Terrell released a version of the song on their 1969 album, '' Easy'', and as the B-side to their 1970 single " California Soul". *

Donny Osmond Donald Clark Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host and former teen idol. He gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gold albums. In the ...

released a version of the song on his 1971 album, '' The Donny Osmond Album''. * Mel and Tim released a version of the song on their 1972 album, ''Starting All Over Again''. *

's 1972 cover reached #113 (U.S.). * Foster Sylvers released a version of the song on his 1973 album, '' Foster Sylvers''. * Jimmy London released a version of the song as a single in 1975. * Derrick Harriott released a version of the song on his 1982 album, ''Acid Rock''. * Haywoode released a version of the song as a single in 1987. *

Glen Brown Glenmore Lloyd Brown (1943 or 1944Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)Tough Times for Glen Brown", ''Jamaica Observer'', 15 July 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2014Larkin, Colin, ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', 1998, Virgin Books, . – 4 O ...

and Lloyd Parks released a version of the song on Brown's 1989 compilation album, ''Boat to Progress! The Original Pantomine Vocal Collection 1970-74''. *

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

and Paul Young released a version of the song on John's 1993 album, '' Duets''. * Helen Watson released a version of the song on her 1999 album, ''Doffing''. *

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (Spanish language, Spanish for "I've got it"; also abbreviated as YLT) is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley ...

released a version of the song as the B-side to their 2006 single "Mr. Tough". *

American Music Club American Music Club was an American, San Francisco-based indie rock band, led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel. Formed in 1982, the band released seven albums before splitting up in 1995. They reformed in 2003 and released two further albums. ...

released a version of the song on their 2008 album, '' Atwater Afternoon''. * Joe Pernice released a version of the song on his 2009 album, ''It Feels So Good When I Stop''. *

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

and

Percy Sledge Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song " When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 19 ...

released a version of the song on Richard's 2011 album, '' Soulicious''. *

The Golden Cups are a Japanese pop and rock band, who were one of the top bands performing in the Group Sounds scene in the late 1960s. Career The band formed in November 1966 in Yokohama, and initially comprised locally born singer Tokimune "Dave" Hirao (Nove ...

released a version of the song on their 1968 debut album. * The Raconteurs performed a live rendition of the song at

FAME Studios FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording l ...

in 2019 for the ''Amazon Music Originals'' series (also available on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

). * Little Joe and the Latinaires released a version of the song to their 1968 album, ''Unbeatable!''

Sampled versions

* Grand Daddy I.U. sampled the song on his song "Something New" which was featured on his 1990 album, '' Smooth Assassin''. *

Tragedy Khadafi Percy Lee Chapman (born August 13, 1971), known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi (formerly Intelligent Hoodlum), is an American rapper and record producer. Hailing from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City,Brown, Marisa. ...

sampled the song on his 1990 song " Live & Direct From The House Of Hits". * Hi-C sampled the song on his song "I'm Not Your Puppet" which was featured on his 1991 album, '' Skanless''. The song reached #63 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

In media

*James and Bobby Purify's version was used in the 1995 film '' My Family''. * Bobby Womack released a version that was featured in the 2000 film ''

Meet the Parents ''Meet the Parents'' is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. It stars Ben Stiller as Greg Focker, a nurse who suffers a series of unfortunate events while visiting his girlfriend's paren ...

''. *James & Bobby Purify's version was in the 2008 film '' Soul Men''. *In 2023, James and Bobby Purify's version appeared in the seventh episode of the fifth season of the black comedy crime drama series '' Fargo''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I'm Your Puppet 1965 songs 1965 singles 1966 singles 1969 singles 1970 singles 1972 singles 1975 singles 1976 singles 1987 singles 1988 singles Songs written by Dan Penn Songs written by Spooner Oldham James & Bobby Purify songs Dianne Leigh songs Dionne Warwick songs Mickey Gilley songs Irma Thomas songs Bell Records singles