David Ruffin

At 50 years old, David Ruffin has this physical status:

Born Davis Eli Ruffin (January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) was an American soul singer and guitarist most well-known during the company's "Classic Five" period as it was then known.

"My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" were among the lead voices on such popular songs as "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Begin." Ruffin was ranked as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008. He was known for his unique raspy and angusting baritone vocals.

In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his involvement with The Temptations.

Marvin Gaye, a fellow Motown recording artist, once remarked adoringly of Ruffin that, "I heard [in his voice] a power that my own voice lacked."

Early life

Davis Eli Ruffin was born in 1941, in the rural unincorporated community of Whynot, Mississippi, just 15 miles from Meridian, Mississippi. He was Elias "Eli" Ruffin, a Baptist minister, and Ophelia Ruffin, the third born son. Quincy B. Ruffin, Reada Mae Ruffin, and Jimmy Lee Ruffin were among his siblings. Rosine, Ruffin's older sister who died in infancy, was also deceased in infancy.

Both David Ruffin's parents were from Mississippi. Eli's father Eli worked as a truck driver at several lumber mills, and his mother Ophelia worked outside of their house. Because of the hardships of living after the American Civil War, Eli's parents had to migrate from Alabama to Mississippi. David Ruffin and Clara Ruffin, David Ruffin's great grandparents, had moved from Bertie County, North Carolina, before arriving in Alabama. John Ruffin, a Civil War soldier serving with the 14th United States Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment, was a member of the United States Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment.

Ruffin's father was strict and violent at times. Eleven months after his birth in 1941, Ruffin's mother died as a result of childbirth complications; his father married Earline, a schoolteacher, in 1942. Ruffin, an infant, and his two older siblings (Quence and Jimmy) and sister Reada Mae traveled with their father and their stepmother as a family gospel group, among other things, opening shows for Mahalia Jackson and The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi. Ruffin performed in the choir at Mount Salem Methodist Church, as talent shows and wherever else he could. He left home under the care of a minister, Eddie Bush, in 1955, and moved to Memphis, Tennessee, with the intention of pursuing the ministry.

With jazz musician Phineas Newborn, Sr., Ruffin and the jazz musician went to Hot Springs, Arkansas, on Friday. They appeared at the Fifty Grand Ballroom and Casino. Little David Bush, nicknamed Little David Bush, continued to perform at talent shows, worked with horses at a jockey club, and eventually became a member of The Dixie Nightingales. Since Johnnie Taylor's departure, he performed with The Soul Stirrers for a brief period. It was in Ruffin's travels as a youth that he encountered such legendary artists as Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Frankie Lymon, Bobby Womack, The Staple Singers, Swan Silvertones, and The Dixie Hummingbirds.

Ruffin converted in that direction after several of his singing idols, Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson, had left gospel music and went secular. Eddie Bush and his partner, Dorothy Helen, moved to Detroit, Michigan, where his brother Jimmy was pursuing a career in music while simultaneously working at the Ford Motor Company.

Personal life

Ruffin was married twice. Cheryl, Nedra, and Kimberly were his first marriages for Sandra Barnes, 1961, with whom he had three children. He had a son with his long-term girlfriend, Genna Sapia, whom he first met in 1964. David E. Sapia's family was named David E. Sapia, but Ruffin later changed his name to David Eli Ruffin, Jr. The three children were together for years. Ruffin married Joy Hamilton in 1976. Sapia would add "Ruffin" to her last name in honor of their marriage and her son's continuity. Sapia-Ruffin published A Memoir: David Ruffin--My Temptation, which describes Ruffin's infidelity and abusive behavior.

When Ruffin joined the Motortown Revue in 1966, she began dating Tammi Terrell, the Temptations' beginning. They had a tumultuous friendship. Ruffin surprised her with a marriage proposal, but she learned he was already married soon after she announced their participation on stage. Ruffin's heroin use in Terrell escalated, and he became more violent toward Terrell. Terrell and Ruffin broke her in the head with his motorcycle helmet in 1967, breaking them apart. Terrell said in 1969 that she had migraines since childhood, and that her mental condition during this period was a contributing factor in her migraines. Terrell died of a brain tumor in 1970.

Ruffin had been living in Philadelphia since 1989 with his companion Diane Showers, who identified him as a 14-year-old fan at the time of his death.

In 1967, Ruffin began getting medical help for his heroin use.

Ruffin was arrested in 1978 at a birthday party in Memphis. After being arrested to prison for allegedly making threats against some policemen and their families, he was charged with disorderly conduct "for refusing multiple requests" to leave the area. Ruffin denied making threats and was released on his own recognizance.

Ruffin was charged $5,000 and sentenced to six months in a Terre Haute, Indiana, for failing to pay taxes accruing to more than $310,000 over three years (1975-1977). He was released early for good conduct after four months.

He pleaded no contest to a charge of receiving and concealing stolen property worth less than $100 (a Colt.32-caliber handgun) on May 19, 1986, and was fined $50 in court fees. Charges of assault and battery as well as receiving a robbed house worth more than $100 were dismissed.

Ruffin was jailed in July 1987 after being arrested after a raid at a Detroit home. He was charged with cocaine possession with the intention of selling less than 20 grams of cocaine. After releasing a $1,500 bond, he was released. Ruffin was not guilty of smoking, but he was found guilty of using the drug. He was sentenced to two years in probation and 50 days of community service. After violating his probation three times, he was banned to attend a drug rehabilitation center in 1989. He completed a 28-day opioid therapy program at the Areba Casriel Institute in New York.

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Career

Ruffin released his first album, "You and Me" (1958), before heading to Detroit with the Bushes. These songs were released on Vega Records under the name "Little David Bush," referring to his guardian's last name. Ruffin would later recall how he first recorded "a different kind of music," heavily influenced by the smoother pop and R&B of the time, as he first recorded in Detroit for Vega.

Ruffin met Berry Gordy Jr. in 1957, then a songwriter with aspirations of owning his own brand. Ruffin worked with Gordy's father, a carpenter, and helped "Pops" Gordy build the building that would be "known as Hitsville USA, the headquarters of Gordy's Tamla Records (later Motown Records) label. Jimmy Ruffin's brother will be signed to Tamla's Miracle Records label as an artist.

Ruffin also worked with Marvin Gaye as an apprentice at Anna Records, a Chess-distributed label owned by Gordy's sister Gwen Gordy Fuqua and his songwriting partner Billy Davis.

When asked about Ruffin in the Detroit Free Press in 1988, Gordy Fuqua said, "He was very much a gentleman, ma'am, and no ma'am," says the author, "but it wasn't until he rehearsed as he was on stage" that I was most impressed. Both he and Gaye will have Anna Records records, according to Ruffin.

Ruffin wrote "I'm in Love" (1961), a band that featured future Motown producer Lamont Dozier. Other group members included Ty Hunter, CP Spencer, Hank Dixon, and (Voice Masters and The Originals founder) Walter Gaines. (Mastition's Melvin Franklin, one of many people David would mention as a cousin, was included in one of the Voice Masters for the first time.) Ruffin did sign to Anna Records as a solo artist, but his debut as a solo artist was fruitless.

Ruffin was eventually introduced to the Temptations, a young and growing local group. Jimmy, Jimmy's older brother, was on a Motortown Revue tour with the Temptations, and he told David that they wanted someone to sing tenor in their group. He expressed his admiration for joining Otis Williams, who also lived in Detroit.

Ruffin was a founder of the Temptations in January 1964 after founding member Elbridge "Al" Bryant was dismissed from the party. Ruffin's first recording session with the company was January 9, 1964. Ruffin and his brother tried to join the company at first, but they ultimately selected David after appearing on stage at the company's New Year's Eve party in 1963.

The bespectacled Ruffin had performed before joining the Temptations, but Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams' role as lead singer mainly switched between Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. During his first year with the company, he had performed a few lead parts, both on stage and in the studio, but his recordings on these studio tracks would not be released for over a year because they were not strong enough to showcase his vocals. However, Smokey Robinson, who wrote and co-wrote most of the Temptations' material, viewed Ruffin as a "sleeping giant" in the company with a distinct voice that was both "mellow" and "gruff." Robinson believed that if he could write just the "perfect song" for Ruffin's voice, he might have a smash hit. The album was supposed to be something Ruffin could "belt out," but it was also "melodic and sweet." "My Girl," Robinson's album when he set out in November 1964, and then a month later. In 1965, the company's first number-one single was released. "My Girl" became the Temptations' signature song, and Ruffin was promoted to lead singer and frontman.

"You're Growing" (1965), "I Know" (1967), "I'm Losing You" (1969), "I Wish It Would Rain" (1966), and "I Could Never Love Another" (after Loving You) were all popular singles, as well as Ruffin-led hits "I Know" (1965), "I Wanted To Go" (1966), "I Know" (1967), "I'm Growing" (1966), "I Wish It Would Rain" (1968) "I's ("I's You") "I" (1966) "I" (1966), "I Was I's (1967) "I's" (1968) ("I Was "I Was Upon Loving You" ("I" (1968). Ruffin also performed lead vocals on Eddie Kendricks' 1967 hit single "You're My Everything." Ruffin's charisma, passion, and dramatic performances endeared him to the Temptations' followers and followers. When Otis Williams, Ruffin (playfully branded "Ruff") first joined the company, he was a natural comedian and a hardworking musician.

The mastermind of Ruffin's most notable non-vocal contribution to the Temptations was the design of their trademark four-headed microphone stand. As the lead singer would sing into a separate microphone, the other participants were able to perform and dance their shows without having to crowd around one microphone.

However, Ruffin's challenges became a problem for the company by 1967. He became addicted to cocaine and began missing rehearsals and performances. Ruffin and his then-girlfriend, Tammi Terrell, rode in a custom limo (with the portrait of his trademark black rimmed glasses painted on the door) who refused to travel with the other Temptations. Ruffin felt that after the Supremes were changed to Diana Ross & the Supremes in early 1967, he suggested that Ruffin & the Temptations be the focal point of the party, as Diana Ross was for her group, and that the group's name be changed to David Ruffin & the Temptations. Ruffin and the group's de facto boss, Otis Williams, became involved in a string of disagreements.

In addition to Ruffin's ego, he began probing into the Temptations' financial reports, requesting an audit of the organization's finances. Ruffin and Gordy became tense as a result of their differences.

The Temptations decided in June 1968 that Ruffin had finally crossed the line when he missed a June 22 Cleveland, Ohio, date with the Temptations in order to attend a performance by Barbara Gail Martin (Dean Martin's daughter). Ruffin was fired on June 27, and Dennis Edwards, a former Contours employee who had been a friend of Ruffin and the organization as a whole before, was fired as a whole. Despite Ruffin's personal invitation to Edwards, Ruffin's debut at Temptations concerts in Edwards' first few dates with the organization. Ruffin would appear on stage, "My Girl" or "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," or "Ain't Too Proud to Begin" as the group's new Ruffin-era song, eliciting the audience but not the audience. According to Edwards, the adulation and Ruffin's pleas convinced the other four Temptations to give Ruffin a second chance, but the Temptations decided not to retain Edwards and ignore considerations of rehiring Ruffin.

Ruffin filed a lawsuit against Motown Records in October 1968, demanding that the brand be released and an accounting of his funds. The case was settled after Motown threatened to discourage the singer from leaving the label. Ruffin was forced to leave Motown to finish his initial deal as a result of his early career (Ruffin came from Motown as a solo artist and had always had a separate contract from the other Temptations, which some felt caused a lot of the company's infighting).

"My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)," Ruffin's first solo album was originally designed for the Temptations. In 1969, the single (from the album also titled My Whole World Ended) was released and made it to the US Pop and R&B Top Ten. This was followed by the 1969 album Feelin' Good. David, a third album, was released in 1970–71, but Motown cancelled it and did not see commercial release until 2004.

Ruffin and his brother Jimmy, "I Am My Brother's Keeper," a 1970 album for which they had minor hits with "When My Love Hand (Comes Tumbling Down)" and "Your Love Was Worth Waiting For." He didn't get to Motown until 1973, when David Ruffin was first introduced. Although Ruffin's solo career initially appeared to be promising, he later went into decline, owing to his heroin use and a lack of Motown support.

In 1975, Van McCoy's "Walk Away from Love," his final top ten hit, which debuted at number nine on the Pop Charts, was hit No. 29. It was also Ruffin's first entry into the UK Charts (as a solo artist), and it was also a huge success there, putting it into the Top Ten (establishing at #10) in early 1976. The single has over one million copies and was given a gold disc by the R.I.A. In February 1976, there was a tv show based in the United States.

"I Lost Everything I've Ever Loved" (1969), "Give What You Can" (1972), "Blood Donors") ("Give All You Can") (1973); "I'm So Glad I Fell For You" (1974); "Life Is" (1977); and "Understand" (1975); "Total Violation") by Ruffin's "I'm So Glad I Fell For You" (1972); "I Can' (G) ("I Fe" ("I'" ("Britis" ("G) ("I Fell") ("G) ("Uni" ("G) ("I Fell" (1972); "I Fe" (1975); "I Fe" ("G) ("Britis") ("Britis") ("I Fell" ("I Fe" ("Mo") ("Touch" ("Beca "I Fe" ("Che" ("Me") "Britis) ("I" (1973); "Ste" (Ged) (G" (1972); "I Fell" (G) ("Mo" (1972); "I" ("G) ("Ai Fell" (G) ("Soult) "I's" (1973); "I's (G) (Gr" (1973); "I" ("A) (G) ("G" (Gi) (Gr) ("Gr" (Ghe" (1976); "I) ("G) ("G) ("Gi) (G) ("G" (G" (1974); "I" ("Give" (1972); "I" (Glob" (1973); "I" (1975); "I" (G) ("Gr Init) ("Give") ("M") ("I" (Glob" ("G) (Gr) ("Ga" ("G) ("G) ("I" (Gr" (Gr.

Ruffin debuted on Motown in 1977, 1980, and Gentleman Ruffin (1980). Kendricks began having issues with the Temptations after he joined RCA Records, as did former Temptations colleague Eddie Kendricks, who helped to rekindle their friendship after Kendricks himself started having trouble with the Temptations.

Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks re-joined the Temptations in 1982 for the recording of their album Reunion and a tour to promote the album. Rick James' "Standing on the Top" was included on the album. The reunion tour was short-lived, but Ruffin began to miss appearances as a result of his cocaine use, causing the company to be fined thousands of dollars. By Christmas 1982, Otis Williams fired Ruffin from the company for the second and final time (along with Kendricks, whose voice was muzzled due to heavy smoking) by the time.

In 1985, Ruffin first began touring with Kendricks (who deleted the "s" from his name at this point) as a duo act. Hall & Oates, a long-time Temptations supporter, joined Ruffin and Kendrick to appear at the Apollo Theater in New York's re-opening this year. Their live album and single were released as a hit live set and single. On July 13, 1985, the four singers performed a medley of Temptations hits at Live Aid. "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "My Girl" was released by Hall & Oates in 1985, starring Ruffin and Kendrick. It debuted at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100, #12 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and #40 on the R&B chart, ranked 20th, and #40 on the R&B chart. Ruffin's first and only Grammy nomination was earned on the album. John Oates later wrote a minor hit single for Ruffin and Kendrick, but the two teams failed to meet together in the form of Daryl Hall's remark about Ruffin's heavy drug use.

Ruffin, Kendrick, and Dennis Edwards, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Temptations in 1989, began touring and recording as "Ruffin/Kendrick/Edwards: Former Leads of The Temptations." They completed a fruitful month of England in 1991, grossing nearly $30,000. They were planning a European tour at the time of his death. For Motorcity Records, he had finished recording "Hurt the One You Love" single.

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