The Fallen Temptation: The Tragedy of David Ruffin

An unmistakable Top-40 radio staple of the ’60s, David Ruffin was the voice of a generation and a singer that influenced everyone from Rod Stewart, to his labelmate Marvin Gaye, to a countless amount of R&B singers.

During his four-year stint with the Temptations, it was his lead vocals that powered classics such as “My Girl,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” and “I Wish It Would Rain.”

In an era filled with great singers, Ruffin was special; he could convey emotions like few others and embodied angst, precision, and cogency. When he left the Temptations for a solo career, it was believed that he’d become one of music’s biggest stars.

It didn’t quite happen that way.

Ruffin’s solo career was marked by highs, like 1969’s “My Whole World Ended” and 1975’s “Walk Away From a Love,” and the lows of failed expectations and low-selling albums. While Ruffin did enjoy a somewhat successful solo career, many feel he could have become a superstar.

Although his name is all but synonymous with corporate neglect, what people don’t know is that Ruffin’s solo career was all but doomed from the start. In fact, in 1968, Ruffin filed suit against Motown for “economic peonage” and wanted to leave the label. Of course, Motown wasn’t known for its kindness or largess and such stunts damaged Ruffin’s stature with the label.

Ruffin returned to court again in 1970 and again asked to be released from his contract. By this point, Ruffin was also trying to get his brother Jimmy, ex-Temptation Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, and then-Tempts lead singer Dennis Edwards to join him in a group called the Fellas. If it stuck, it would have destroyed the Temptations, Kendricks’ burgeoning solo career, and what was left of Motown’s patience with Ruffin.

These facts, as well as Ruffin’s six years of “issues” as a Temptation, seemed to compound the problems. Motown didn’t budge and Ruffin had to stay put. But here’s the rub: instead of working out something equally profitable for the two entities, Motown let him remain on the label as a solo act but with poor choices for singles and little or no promotion.

The albums also seemed  to reflect that. Efforts like My Whole World Ended and Feelin’ Good were filled with near histrionic ballads and mid-tempo songs that tried to access the emotion from Ruffin’s voice but offered little else. Ruffin himself even wondered about this direction as he stated in an interview with Blues and Soul from 1971. “After ‘My Whole World Ended’  he said, “the company chose the follow up as ‘I’m So Glad I Fell For You.’ I was upset, and I said that they were sending me back to church!”

Ruffin released I Am My Brother’s Keeper with brother Jimmy, who was having his own share of issues with Motown. The album was surprisingly strong with covers of popular songs of the day and well as latter-day Motown originals like “Your Love Was Worth Waiting For” and “True Love Can Be Beautiful.” The album faded due to Motown releasing the weaker songs as singles, and Ruffin’s next album had an even more devastating fate.

The 12 songs on David were recorded in Detroit and set to be released in late 1971. The album, like I Am My Brother’s Keeper was filled with that exciting latter-day Motown sound that all but disappeared as Motown relocated to LA. David ultimately wasn’t released, although two singles including “You Can Come Right Back to Me” were issued.

Despite whatever David might have done for him, Ruffin again wanted to leave Motown by the end of the year, and his urge to jump ship at this point put him in the label’s doghouse for good.

By 1973, Ruffin was no longer thought of as a top-tier act. His 1973 self-titled album was no replacement for David, and it barely hit the charts. For all the cool he exhibited on record and the erudite manner Ruffin exhibited in interviews, he wasn’t captivating or scintillating live.

Out of all of the exiled lead singers gone solo, Ruffin often looked the most ungainly onstage — joyless and most certainly a bit weird.On a 1973 Soul Train appearance, he wore his girlfriend’s long, shaggy wig, and it was clear that he had no support system stopping him from making such dreadful errors.

The following year, Ruffin was looking forward to the next phase, which briefly included a foray into rock and the release of Me N’ Rock N’ Roll Are Here to Stay, produced by Norman Whitfield who was Temptations primary producer from 1966-1974 and the co-writer of Ruffin led classics such as “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” and “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg.”

By the time Ruffin left Whitfield had begun to make a rock-edged “psychedelic soul” with songs like “Cloud Nine” and “Psychedelic Shack.” In an interview with Billboard magazine, he stated, “It’s the rock thing I like. That’s why my LP is called what it is, and that’s why we hope there are things that appeal to everyone on it.”

Ruffin was also gaining traction from a friendship with Rod Stewart and a well-received appearance at the Whisky a Go Go. None of it lasted. By this point, Whitfield’s production style was becoming old hat and the effort didn’t restore Ruffin to his earlier glory. According to the original contract Ruffin was to leave in 1975, but he re-signed and stayed around for a few more efforts, and one was particularly special.

Who I Am, released in late 1975, was produced by Van McCoy. The album featured Ruffin in a contemporary New York disco and R&B style, which spawned the hit single Ruffin craved, “Walk Away From Love.” Sadly, the high times didn’t last. Ruffin and McCoy rushed back in the studio for 1976’s Everything is Coming Up Love, which featured a lot of songs in the “Walk Away From Love”-style but none of the magic. Ruffin and McCoy’s last album for Motown was In My Stride, a good and fun effort that kept him clinging to the middle rungs of the R&B charts.

In 1978, Ruffin signed to Warner Brothers, three years after his last big hit. His debut for his new label,  So Soon We Change, produced by Dramatics and Johnnie Taylor producer Don Davis and was a return to form. The popularity of the album earned him another Soul Train appearance, during which he appeared refreshed, renewed, and ready to be a viable act once again.

Ruffin’s second album for Warner Brothers, 1980’s Gentleman Ruffin might have been even better. By this point, Ruffin was hitting his late 30s, had matured as a vocalist, and didn’t (or couldn’t) oversing like he did in his early solo days.

Like many veteran R&B acts of the time, if there were no hits or potential for any, big labels would release the act to give him or her the chance to “explore other opportunities.” That’s what happened to Ruffin. His solo contract with Warner Brothers lapsed and he never released another solo album.

Ruffin, of course, had extenuating circumstances, that hammered his career during this time –including a serious cocaine addiction which went back to the late ’60s.  By the early ’80s, Ruffin was renowned for doing quick stints in jail for everything from disturbing the peace, to tax evasion, to drug possession. While it was no surprise that Motown didn’t quite know what to do with him, it was less of a surprise that Warner Brothers didn’t have a clue either.

Throughout the ’80s, the embers of his ’60s work with the Temptations became the basis of his career. In 1982, Ruffin rejoined the Tempts for the Reunion tour, albeit briefly due to his not showing up for shows and his continued drug dependency. An alliance with Eddie Kendricks and Hall and Oates put him further in the past tense with the H&O album Live at the Apollo.

By 1987, Ruffin and Kendricks (now Kendrick) came as a package deal, and the two released the forgettable Ruffin and Kendrick. Despite his declining voice, ardent fans never gave up the hopes of a successful solo career for Ruffin.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. By 1990, the spotlight had faded even further, as another ex-Temptation, Dennis Edwards, joined the group. The act was a trio with no room for new music. A year later, the point was moot. Ruffin’s demons caught up with him, and he died of a drug overdose at only 50 years old.

In the intervening years more has been learned about Ruffin’s struggles, his fights with Motown as well as the pain behind his cathartic vocals. His work began to be re-issued and in 2004, Hip-O Select/Motown finally released the long-shelved David and it proved to be one of the strongest albums. A few years later the same labels issued The Great David Ruffin-The Solo Albums Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. and it covered all of his work from 1969 to 1977. Although Ruffin’s solo career has many fans with questions of what might have been, time has been very kind to his work and its left an enduring and powerful legacy.

Jason Elias

Jason Elias is a music journalist and pop culture historian who lives in Easton, Maryland. His work has appeared on SoulTrain.com, All Music Guide, Upscale, SoulMusic.com, and in Upscale magazine, among others. He also runs the blog Pop Culture Idiot where he talks about pop culture and other fun issues. He has too many records, cassettes, and 8-tracks and loves to talk about music.