Though Bobby Nunn and Eugene Coplin were still teenagers in 1967 when Nunn's father William decided to start his own label, Mo Do Records, the duo didn't let their age stop them from spending their afternoons writing songs and practicing their harmonies. Their single "You Gave Me Love" was the first to be released on Mo Do, and before the label folded in the early '70s due to financial troubles, Bob & Gene, as they called themselves, had become local Buffalo, NY, celebrities. Looking for better musical opportunities, Bobby Nunn eventually moved to California to pursue his career further, singing with Rick James, releasing his own albums on Motown in the '80s, and working as a songwriter for other artists, while Coplin stayed in Buffalo and became an ordained minister. In 2001, record collector and soul music enthusiast David Griffiths came across a 45 from Bob & Gene, a cover of Marvin Gaye's "If This World Were Mine." Intrigued by what he heard, he contacted William Nunn, who then gave Griffiths all of Bob & Gene's old tapes. Believing there was possibility in the collection, Griffiths encouraged the family to allow him to get them released. Daptone Records, a label that specialized in funk and soul, took interest in what Griffiths presented them, and released the full-length If This World Were Mine... in 2007, shortly after the elder Nunn's death.

Bob & Gene - I Can Be Cool

Daptone Records