Patterson Twins

Church-bred Southern soul duo the Patterson Twins debuted in the early '70s. The Magee, Mississippi natives recorded singles for independent labels such as Nashville's King, Jewel sublabel Ronn, and Malaco, but they're known more for Let Me Be Your Lover (Commercial, 1978), an album that has become regarded as a cult classic with help from multiple reissues. Inspired by other Southern vocal duos such as the Sims Twins, Sam & Dave, and Mel & Tim, biological twins Estus and Lester Patterson -- under the name Soul Twins -- made their recorded debut in 1972 on Big Beat, a small label based in their home state, with uncredited production from Willie Mitchell. From 1973 through 1976, Patterson Twins were behind a handful of singles for King (not the Ohio-based label), Ronn, and Malaco. Among these was the Prince Phillip Mitchell-written "I Need Your Love" (which would resurface decades later on numerous compilations of rare R&B). In 1978, signed to another small label, Commercial, Estus and Lester released Let Me Be Your Lover, on which they worked with a team of producers who included Sanchez Harvey of short-lived Gordy/Motown act Bottom & Co. The LP featured an update of that group's "Gonna Find a True Love." The Pattersons subsequently founded Kon-Kord Records in their adoptive home base of California. During the mid-'80s, they released a couple singles of their own, using Kon-Kord mostly as a channel for producing and developing R&B and gospel artists. Estus and Lester reconvened to release If I Could Live My Life Again in 2006 and the gospel follow-up Take Us Higher in 2007. The former LP featured assistance from Hense Powell and Richard "Dimples" Fields. Meanwhile, the Pattersons' first album had become prized by deep-digging R&B aficionados, with original copies exchanging hands for sums that possibly rivaled the cost of the recording. Japan's Think! Records reissued the album on multiple formats in 2013. Six years later, Acid Jazz and Miles Away partnered to recirculate it once more.
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