David Ruffin

I'd like to meet:

"David had a way of interpreting a song that no one else can interpret...You could actually see and feel everything he was singing. David Ruffin was definitely one of those wonderful stylist."
-Mary Wilson of the Supremes ____________________________________________________________ "Ruff is a true artist. He turns every song into his own personal story" '82.
-Marvin Gaye ____________________________________________________________ "He may not have written since I lost my baby, but the way he articulated it, that's something I don't think we'll ever hear again from a rhythm and blues artist".
-Marv Johnson singer/songwriter ____________________________________________________________ "David was the best ad-libber...He was very artistic and he always had some good, soulful, loving lyrics to put on songs".
-Martha Reeves of Martha Reeves and the vandellas ____________________________________________________________ "I was a David Ruffin fan before he was with the Temptations so I knew how talented he was.David had a unique voice."
-Stevie Wonder ____________________________________________________________ "David Ruffin was one of the deepest persons I have ever met. David was an extremely talented person, he was a friend, David told me little things about life that I couldn't even learn from my mother and father.I respected David, God bless him and god rest his soul".
-Dennis Edwards of the Temptations Review1. I Wanna Be With You
2. All I Need
3. Love Supply
4. Still In Love With You
5. I Got a Thing For You
6. Can We Make Love One More Time
7. Slow Dance
8. Don't You Go Home

1. Let Your Love Rain Down On Me
2. Break My Heart
3. I Get Excited
4. Chain On the Brain
5. Morning Sun Looks Blue
6. Let's Stay Together
7. So Soon We Change
8. Sexy Dancer

Disc 1
1. Who I Am
2. It Takes All Kinds Of People To Make A World
3. Walk Away From Love
4. I've Got Nothing But Time
5. The Finger Pointers
6. Wild Honey
7. Heavy Love
8. Statue Of A Fool
9. Love Can Be Hazardous To Your Health
10. Discover Me
11. First Round Knock Out

Disc 01
1. My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)
2. Pieces Of A Man
3. Somebody Stole My Dream
4. I've Lost Everything I've Ever Loved
5. Everlasting Love
6. I've Got To Find Myself A Brand New Baby
7. The Double Cross
8. Message From Maria
9. World Of Darkness
10. We'll Have A Good Thing Going On
11. My Love Is Growing Stronger

David Ruffin
"Break My Heart"

David Ruffin
"Wild Honey"

David Ruffin
"My Whole World Ended"

David Ruffin
"Common Man"

David Ruffin & Eddie Kendrick
"I'm Losing You"

David Ruffin
"Walk Away From Love"

The Temptations
"I'm Losing You"

The Temptations
"Ain't To Proud To Beg"

The Temptations
"My Girl/I'm Losing You"

The Temptations
"My Girl"

VEGA "You and I": 1958

Anna Records "Im in love":1961

"My whole world ended":1969

"Feelin' good":1969

"I am My Brothers keeper":1970

"DAVID RUFFIN":1973

"Me 'N Rock 'N roll are here to stay:1974

"Who I AM":1975

"Everything's coming up love":1976

"In My Stride":1977

"So soon we change":1979

"Gentleman Ruffin":1980

"Ruffin & Kendrick":1987

"DAVID" The Unreleased Album:2004

Davis Eli Ruffin
Jan 18,1941-June 1,1991
David Ruffin (Birth name Davis Eli Ruffin) born Jan 18,1941 in Whynot Mississippi, Whynot being such a small town it registered in Meridian Mississippi, was the son of Ophelia Davis Ruffin and Eli Ruffin and the brother of Quincy, Rita, Jimmy and half brother Calvin. David's other sister, Rosetta, passed living only one year. Unfortunately David's Mother Ophelia passed when David was only months old, and a woman by the name of Earline Ruffin who was David's Stepmother, raised him, his brothers and sister and taught them a number of things that their birth mother could not teach them due to her very early passing. Earline Ruffin was a School teacher and Eli Ruffin was a Baptist minister and a very, very strict man. The Ruffins were a very spiritual and musically inclined family starting from very early ages. David at a young age would travel with his father Eli, and siblings Rita, Quincy and Jimmy to sing and open shows for spiritual acts such as Mahalia Jackson to the Five blind boys etc... David Ruffin left home at the very young age of 14 and traveled to Memphis, meeting a Minister who became his guardian, and did some work there for a while but minimal work would cause him to travel from Memphis to Arkansas for more work. Later he went back to Memphis and from there he would join a gospel group called The Dixie Nightingales (a group which later became Ollie and the Nightingales after David had long gone.) David as a Dixie Nightingale group member did a lot of traveling back then with other groups and would do a lot of spiritual shows. Groups such as the Staple Singers, the Womack brothers, Swan silvertones, the Dixie Hummingbirds and the list goes on. Later David then went to Hot springs Arkansas with Jazz Musician Phineas N, Sr.(Whom he met in Memphis) there working the Fifty Grand Casino singing at night, and also was a Jockey riding horses. Eventually David met a man and a woman by the name of Eddie Bush (Who became David's guardian) and Dorothy Helen, and they would be responsible for taking David to Detroit MI, in 1957, He was 16 by this time.It was there and then he met with Berry Gordy & family and ended up living with the Gordys. Later David being strongly inspired by pop/r&b music of the time, he recorded his first released record with the songs titled "You and I" and "Believe me", "You and I" a melodic ballad with a 17 year old David as he conveys a young man wanting he and his dream girl to be a pair, and the B-side "Believe me" which was more of an up tempo song, again with this song we hear David as he conveys a young man convincing a special girl to believe just how wonderful she is, and meaning it from the bottom of his heart. These songs were recorded at VEGA Records 1958 and released under the name "Little David Bush", using the last name of the man he had met previously, Eddie Bush. For alternative work David started working in the gordy's printing shop and in the shipping department packing records for Anna Records, which was a Chess distributed label, formed in 1958 by Gwen Gordy and her then boyfriend Billy Davis along with Berry's other sister Anna Gordy in which they named the label after. He also helped to physically build Motown. David eventually started recording at Anna Records, and recorded the songs "Im in love" and "One of these days" which was in 1961. Later Billy Davis formed Check-Mate records (Also Chess Distributed) taking David with him and while there he recorded the songs "You can get what I got" and "Actions speak louder than words" in 1961, then songs "Mr.Bus driver" and "Knock you out with love" in 1962. While these songs, starting from his VEGA releases are all very enjoyable, it did not bring David to a level he desired to be musically. So David working in Detroit for a while, and having been recording on his own, he eventually met an up and coming local group by the name of the Temptations. David and the Temptations both had out records at the time so they would do record hops and such back then. Later he would reside in New York for about a year and a half working, then came back to work in Detroit, His brother Jimmy Ruffin went on a Motown Revue tour with the Temptations, and he told David that they needed someone to sing Tenor in their group. So David would go over and talk to Otis Williams (They lived very close to each other in Detroit, Otis Philadelphia and David Euclid) so David tried it, his stage presence and charisma would be responsible for him entering the group. David had one gig on New Years night in Muskegon Michigan, then he signed the contract on Jan 2nd and would replace their prior singer Elbridge "Al" Bryant.

The year is 1964 and group members were the great Paul Williams: Baritone (Paul did some of their choreography before they were working with legendary choreographer Cholly Atkins), Eddie Kendricks:Falsetto, Melvin Franklin: bass, Otis Williams: Tenor-baritone, and David:Tenor.In 1964 the Temptations had their first hit song called "The way you do the things you do" Eddie Kendricks fantastic falsetto singing lead. When this song became a hit it made the guys very happy at the time, Being young, determined and hard working, this was a sure sign that they as a group and artist had finally made it. As time went by, singer, songwriter and producer the great William "Smokey" Robinson wrote a song especially for David's voice called "My Girl" a song which was a pure classic then and even now.After its late release in '64 going into '65 the song went straight to number 1 on the R&B and Pop charts, and remained in the top charts for a number of weeks sending the Temptations on their way. David's voice can be heard on a great deal of leads on the Tempts songs and quite a bit were hits, songs including "Since I lost my baby", "My baby" , "Aint to proud to beg", "(I know) Im losing you", "I could never love another after loving you", "Wish it would rain" and many more. David enjoyed being with the Temptations but the time came when he had to depart from the group on June 26th of 1968. David's exit would be due to disagreements. While David did battle with personal problems of his own, and while he did miss being a Temptation, he felt it was destiny...That he had to branch out on his own as a solo artist. Dennis Edwards (Former Contours member) would be his replacement.

When David left the Temptations in '68, he remained under contract with Motown and pursued a solo career. His first solo Album "My whole world ended" and hit song being "My whole world ended (the moment you left me)" in 1969, the album went to the charts at #1 R&B and #31 POP, and as a single #2 R&B and # 9 Pop. He also did a record with brother Jimmy called "Iam my brothers keeper" done in 1970. Later having another hit song "Walk away from love" in 1975, at # 1 R&B and #9 Pop. This song is featured on David's album titled "WHO I AM" which went to the charts at #5 R&B and #31 POP. David worked with the likes of great producers and arrangers Van McCoy, Bobby Miller, Paul Riser, Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol etc... David's music career post Temptations faced some ups and downs however when asked he would express that he Loved his Solo Career and that he would not have traded it for anything in the world. To recollect from David's past to the Seventies, after leaving home at an early age and meeting his first wife, Sandra Ruffin (David only married twice) producing 3 beautiful girls, Cheryl, Nedra and Kim with her, Then he met with and was involved in a relationship with Singer Tammi Terrell, going on to have a solo career, then meeting and marrying his second and last wife Joy Hamilton. David Ruffin had a very full life by now. As his life and career furthered he left Motown in the later half of the Seventies and ended up at Warner Brothers and completed 2 albums, first one being "So soon we change" 1979 and second one "Gentleman Ruffin" 1980. In 1982 he would rejoin the Tempts for a Reunion tour.

In 1985 David Ruffin teamed up with good friend and past fellow group-mate Eddie Kendricks along with Hall and Oates to perform at the Apollo Theater in New York. This was later released as a LIVE Album. Also in the same year of '85 David and Eddie participated in a Live AID concert in PA, and In 1987 the two did an album together (signed with RCA) called "Ruffin and Kendrick". Some time would pass when David Ruffin, Eddie Kendrick and Dennis Edwards decided to sing and tour together and further do what they loved best! this was after being inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Sadly David Ruffin's life would come to an end on June 1st, 1991 at the age of 50 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he lived. David left his wonderful gift that he shared with the world behind, and is survived by his brothers, his children, his many grandchildren and other extended family members. David would say in the past that he wanted to be one of the greatest singers in the world and one could say that he succeeded. David was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians hall of fame in 2002.

Click player below to hear David Ruffin's Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame speech from 1989 Induction Ceremony along with Kim Mone Ruffin, singing her fathers classic Lead, "I wish it would rain".
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druff41

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Rest in peace Mone' Little.