David Ruffin

David Ruffin
Background information
Birth name	Davis Eli Ruffin
Born	January 18, 1941(1941-01-18) Whynot, Mississippi, USA
Died	June 1, 1991(1991-06-01) (aged 50) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Genres	R&B, pop, soul, disco, gospel
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals, drums
Years active	1956–1991
Labels	Anna, Chess, Motown, Warner Bros., RCA
Associated acts	The Temptations, Eddie Kendrick, Jimmy Ruffin

Davis Eli "David" Ruffin (January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 to 1968 (or the group's "Classic Five" period as it was later known). He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." Known for his unique raspy and anguished tenor vocals, Ruffin was ranked as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008.^[1] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 for his work with the Temptations.^[2] Fellow Motown recording artist Marvin Gaye once said admiringly of Ruffin that, "I heard in [his voice] a strength my own voice lacked."^[1]

Early years and career

Ruffin was born Davis Eli Ruffin on January 18, 1941 in the rural unincorporated community of Whynot, Mississippi, the son of Eli, a Baptist minister, and Ophelia Ruffin (née Davis). His father was strict and at times violently abusive. Ruffin's mother died just months after his birth and his father married a schoolteacher, Earline, in 1942.^[3] As a young child, Ruffin, along with his other siblings (older brothers Quincy and Jimmy, and sister Rita Mae), traveled with their father and their stepmother as a family gospel group opening shows for Mahalia Jackson and The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi among others.^[4] He also had an older sister Rosetta who died as a child. Ruffin sang in the choir at Mount Salem Methodist Church, talent shows, and wherever else he could.^[3] In 1955, at the age of fourteen, he left home under the guardianship of a minister and went to Memphis, Tennessee with the purpose of pursuing the ministry.^[4]

At age 15, Ruffin went to Hot Springs, Arkansas with the jazz musician Phineas Newborn, Sr. There they played at the Fifty Grand Ballroom and Casino. Ruffin continued to sing at talent shows, worked with horses at a jockey club and eventually became a member of the Dixie Nightingales. He also sang with the Soul Stirrers briefly after the departure of Johnnie Taylor.^[4] It was in Ruffin's travels as a teenager that he met such later popular personalities as Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Bobby Womack, the Staple Singers, the Swan Silvertones and the Dixie Hummingbirds.

After some of his singing idols like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson had left gospel music and gone secular, Ruffin also turned in that direction. He met and came under the guardianship of Eddie Bush and Dorothy Helen who took David to Detroit, Michigan and introduced him to Gwen Gordy Fuqua, Berry Gordy's sister and Billy Davis. Asked about Ruffin in the Detroit Free Press in 1988, Gordy Fuqua said, "He was very much a gentleman, yes ma'am and no ma'am, but the thing that really impressed me about David was that he was one of the only artists I've seen who rehearsed like he was on stage."^[3] In Detroit, his brother Jimmy Ruffin was pursuing a career in music while working at the Ford Motor Company. Jimmy landed a deal with Miracle Records, one of several labels owned by Berry Gordy's Tamla (later Motown) Records. On the StreetGold video The Original Leads of the Temptations, Ruffin explained how he went to Detroit and began to record a different kind of music. He said that he met Berry Gordy in 1957. Ruffin stated that Marvin Gaye and he used to pack records for Anna Records, which was a Chess-distributed label formed in 1958 by Gordy Fuqua and Billy Davis, and that he at one time lived with Berry Gordy’s father (who was a contractor) and worked with him in the building construction of Motown.

Early career

Strongly inspired by pop and R&B music of the time, Ruffin recorded his first released records with the songs "You and I" (1958) b/w "Believe Me" (1958) and the original version of "Statue of A Fool." "You and I" a melodic ballad with a 17-year-old Ruffin as he portrays a young man wanting him and his dream girl to be a pair, and the B-side "Believe Me" which was more of an uptempo song. These songs were recorded at VEGA Records and released under the name "Little David Bush", using the last name of the man he had met previously, Eddie Bush. Ruffin eventually started recording at Anna Records, and recorded the song "I'm in Love" b/w "One of These Days" (1961), with the Voice Masters, which included future Motown producer Lamont Dozier and members of the singing group the Originals (and, at one time, it also had another future Temptations member, Melvin Franklin, one of numerous people David would claim as a cousin). Later Billy (a/k/a "Roquel')Davis formed Check-Mate Records taking Ruffin with him. While there, he recorded the songs "Mr. Bus Driver (Please Hurry)", a minor local hit, b/w "Knock You Out With Love" (1962). He then recorded the songs, "Actions Speak Louder Than Words" b/w "You Can Get What I Got" (1961). Though Ruffin's name is on the label, the Voice Masters provide backup. Ruffin eventually met an up-and-coming local group by the name of The Temptations. His older brother Jimmy Ruffin went on a Motortown Revue tour with the Temptations, and he told David that they needed someone to sing tenor in their group. Ruffin showed interest in joining the group to Otis Williams whom he lived very close to in Detroit. In January 1964, Ruffin became a member of the Temptations after founding member Elbridge "Al" Bryant was fired from the group (Ruffin's first recording session with the group was January 9, 1964). Though both David and his brother Jimmy were considered, David was given an edge over Jimmy thanks to his performance skills, which David displayed when he joined the Temptations on-stage during a local Detroit performance earlier in 1963.^[5]

With the Temptations

Main article: The Temptations

The bespectacled Ruffin initially sang backgrounds, while the role of lead singer mostly alternated between Eddie Kendrick and Paul Williams. He did sing a few lead parts both on stage and in the studio during his first year with the group, but his leads on these studio tracks would not be released for over a year, as they were considered not good enough to showcase Ruffin's vocals. Smokey Robinson, who produced and co-wrote most of the Temptations' material at this point, saw Ruffin during this period as a "sleeping giant" in the group with a unique voice that was, "mellow," yet, "gruff."^[6] Robinson thought that if he could write just the perfect song for Ruffin's voice, then he could have a smash hit.^[6] The song was to be something that Ruffin could "belt out" yet something that was also "melodic and sweet".^[6] That song, "My Girl" recorded in November 1964 and released a month later, became the group's first #1 single and its signature song and elevated Ruffin to the role of lead singer and front man.

The follow-ups to "My Girl" were also extremely successful singles, including "It's Growing" (1965), "Since I Lost My Baby" (1965), "My Baby" (1965), "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (1966), "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" (1966), "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (1966), "All I Need" (1967), "(Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need" (1967), "I Wish It Would Rain" (1967), and "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)" (1968). Ruffin also shared lead vocals on the 1967 hit single "You're My Everything" with Eddie Kendrick. The tall, 6'3", Ruffin's passionate and dramatic performances endeared him to the Temptations' audiences and fans. According to Otis Williams, Ruffin (playfully nicknamed "Ruff" by the group) was initially a natural comedian and a hard-working singer when he first joined the group. Ruffin's most notable non-vocal contribution to the Temptations was the masterminding of their trademark four-headed microphone stand.

David Ruffin (center) with the Temptations 1967.

By 1967, however, ego problems with Ruffin became an issue for the group. He became addicted to cocaine and began missing rehearsals and performances. Refusing to travel with the other Temptations, Ruffin and his then-girlfriend Tammi Terrell traveled in a custom limo (with the image of his trademark black rimmed glasses painted on the door). After the Supremes had their name changed to Diana Ross & the Supremes in early 1967, Ruffin felt that he should become the focal point of the Temptations, just as Diana Ross was for her group and began demanding that the group name be changed to David Ruffin & the Temptations. This led to a number of fights between Ruffin and the group's de facto leader, Otis Williams. In addition to the group's problems with Ruffin's ego, he began inquiring into the Temptations' financial records, demanding an accounting of the group's money. This caused friction between Ruffin and Gordy.

In June 1968, the Temptations agreed that Ruffin had finally crossed the line when he missed a concert that month to instead attend a performance by his new girlfriend, Barbara Martin. Ruffin was replaced with Dennis Edwards, a former member of the Contours who had been a friend of Ruffin and the group as a whole beforehand. Though Ruffin himself personally encouraged Edwards to take his place, after Edwards' first few dates with the group, Ruffin began turning up unannounced at Temptations' concerts. When the group started to perform a Ruffin-era song such as "My Girl" or "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", Ruffin would suddenly walk on to the stage, take the microphone from Edwards' hands, and steal the show, embarrassing the group but entertaining the fans.^[7]

Meanwhile, Ruffin filed suit against Motown Records, seeking a release from the label and an accounting of his money. Motown counter-sued to keep the singer from leaving the label and eventually the case was settled. The settlement required Ruffin to remain with Motown to finish out his initial contract (Ruffin joined Motown as a solo artist and always had a separate contract from the other Temptations, which some felt caused a lot of the in-fighting within the group).

Solo years and personal issues

The album cover of Ruffin's solo debut LP released in 1969

Ruffin's first solo single was a song originally intended for the Temptations, "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)". The single from the album entitled My Whole World Ended was released in 1969 followed soon by the album Feelin' Good. The single reached the US Pop & R&B "Top Ten." A third album, titled David, was recorded in 1970-71, but was shelved by Motown and did not see a commercial release until 2004; his next official release for Motown did not arrive until 1973, when David Ruffin was released. His final Top Ten hit was 1975's "Walk Away from Love", produced by Van McCoy, which reached number nine on the Pop chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in February 1976.^[8] Other notable recordings from Ruffin's solo career include "I Lost Everything I've Ever Loved" (1969); the gospel-inflected "I'm So Glad I Feel For You" (1970); "Blood Donors Needed (Give All You Can)" (1973); "Common Man" (1973) (which was sampled on the 2001 Jay-Z song "Never Change"); "No Matter Where" (1974); "Who I Am" (1975); "Statue Of a Fool" (1975); and cover versions of the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back", "Rainy Night in Georgia" popularized by Brook Benton (both recorded for the shelved 1970 album); and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' "I Miss You", featuring Eddie Kendrick (1973).

In 1970 Ruffin recorded an album with his brother Jimmy, I am My Brother's Keeper, for which they had minor hits with "When My Love Hand (Comes Tumbling Down)" and "Your Love Was Worth Waiting For". While his solo career initially showed promise, Ruffin reportedly went into decline in part because of his cocaine addiction and the lack of support from Motown.

After leaving Motown in 1977, Ruffin recorded for Warner Bros. Records releasing the albums So Soon We Change (1979) and Gentleman Ruffin (1980), and later signed with RCA Records, accompanied by former Temptations band-mate Eddie Kendrick, who chose to rekindle their friendship when Kendrick himself started experiencing problems with the Temptations. In 1982, Ruffin joined The Temptations' Reunion tour and recorded the smash hit "Standing on the Top" with Rick James. In 1985, Ruffin started touring with Kendrick as a duo act.

In 1982, Ruffin was sentenced to six months in a low-security prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, for failing to pay taxes during the mid-1970s. On May 19, 1986, he pleaded no contest to a charge of receiving and concealing stolen property worth less than $100 (a Colt .32-caliber handgun) and was fined $50 plus $100 in court costs. Charges of assault and battery and receiving stolen property worth more than $100 were dropped.^[3] A 1987 cocaine arrest landed him in jail for repeated parole violations.^[9]

In 1985, longtime Temptations fans Hall & Oates teamed up with Ruffin and Kendrick to perform at the re-opening of the Apollo Theater in New York. Their performance was released as a relatively successful live album and single. The four singers also sang a medley of Temptations hits at Live Aid on July 13, 1985. John Oates later wrote a minor hit single for Ruffin and Kendrick, but the two duos fell out, allegedly due to Daryl Hall's objections to Ruffin's heavy drug use. After being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1989, with the other Temptations, Ruffin, Kendrick and Dennis Edwards began touring and recording as "Ruffin/Kendrick/Edwards: Former Leads of The Temptations".

Personal life

Ruffin was married twice, first to Sandra Ruffin and later to Joy Hamilton. With Sandra, Ruffin had three daughters: Cheryl, Nedra and Kimberly. He has one son, David Ruffin Junior (also a recording artist), with his longtime live-in girlfriend Genna Sapia, who later added his last name to hers in tribute, becoming Genna Sapia-Ruffin. Ruffin had a more public relationship with singer Tammi Terrell.

Death

After a successful month-long tour of England with Kendrick and Edwards, Ruffin collapsed on June 1, 1991, in a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, crack house after sharing ten vials with a friend in under half an hour. Although the cause of death was ruled an accidental overdose of cocaine,^[10] Ruffin's family and friends suspected foul play, claiming that a money belt containing the proceeds from the tour ($40,000) was missing from his body.^[11] He had just finished recording the single "Hurt the One You Love" for Motorcity Records.

In The Temptations television miniseries, Ruffin's beaten body is depicted as being thrown from a moving car in front of a hospital, where he dies. Also stated in the mini-series was that his body remained unclaimed in a morgue for a week after his death. As a result, Ruffin's estate filed suit against NBC and other major players involved in the making of the series, claiming defamation. According to the plaintiffs in the case, Ruffin was actually taken to the hospital by a limousine and was escorted to the waiting area by his driver, who informed the attendants of his identity. The Ruffin children further state that his body was claimed by one of them within a few days after his death.^[12]

Legacy

Ruffin had many admirers among his fellow artists, mainly for the emotive power he brought to every song he sang. "Nobody could sing like David Ruffin," said his close friend and colleague Martha Reeves (of Martha and the Vandellas fame).^[13] His contemporary, label-mate, and long-time acquaintance Marvin Gaye was particularly impressed with the virility of Ruffin's voice. Gaye said Ruffin's work "made me remember that when a lot of women listen to music, they want to feel the power of a real man."^[1]

Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, one of Ruffin's biggest fans, said, "His voice had a certain glorious anguish that spoke to people on many emotional levels".^[1] Ruffin himself said, "I don't know what kind of voice I have, I really don't"...it's just about "the feeling I get for the song."^[4]

The raspy-voiced Rod Stewart fell in love with Ruffin's voice after he heard "I Wish It Would Rain". "It jumped out of the speakers and ravished my soul," Stewart exclaimed.^[14] Stewart would later become friends with Ruffin. "His voice was so powerful -- like a foghorn on the Queen Mary," Stewart told Rolling Stone magazine.^[14]

For all of his nearly forty years in the music business, much of it with modest success, Ruffin is remembered almost exclusively for his relatively brief stint in the Temptations. The cover art of his last album Gentleman Ruffin was the inspiration on the art of rapper Wiz Khalifa's mixtape Kush and Orange Juice.^[3]

In popular culture

In 1998, NBC aired The Temptations, a four-hour television miniseries about the group's career. Ruffin was portrayed by Leon Robinson (who uses the professional name "Leon"). The actor won high praise for his portrayal of Ruffin, but Ruffin's family was upset by the way the miniseries portrayed Ruffin and filed a lawsuit against the producers of the miniseries and also Otis Williams, whose memoir had been the source material for the miniseries.^[12] The case was dismissed in favor of the defendants, with Williams later claiming that he had no real control over the presentation of the material.

Grand Puba of Brand Nubian referenced the singer on the 1990 single "All for One", stating: "I hit a beat and swing a note as if my name was David Ruffin".

The first song on Fall Out Boy's 2005 CD From Under the Cork Tree was to have been titled "My Name is David Ruffin...and These are The Temptations" but for legal reasons, the name was changed (to "Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued").

HotStylz used Ruffin's song and referred his name on their song Lookin' Boy

Complete lead vocals with the Temptations

• The Temptations Sing Smokey (1965)
  • "My Girl" (Robinson, Ronald White)
  • "You'll Lose a Precious Love" (Robinson) – Recorded on March 2, 1964, it's the first lead Ruffin recorded with the group.
  • "It's Growing" (Robinson, Warren Moore)
  • "Who's Lovin' You" (Robinson)
  • "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (Robinson) – Ruffin and Paul Williams sings "the unison harmony co-lead vocal" with Eddie Kendrick

• The Temptin' Temptations (1965)
  • "Since I Lost My Baby" (Robinson, Moore)
  • "My Baby" (Robinson, Moore, Robert Rogers)
  • "Born to Love You" (Ivy Jo Hunter, William "Mickey" Stevenson) – shared with Eddie Kendrick
  • "You're the One I Need" (Robinson) – Ruffin sings the bridge with Paul Williams while Kendrick leads the rest of the song

• Gettin' Ready (1966)
  • "Say You" (Charles Jones, Robert Dobyne, Robert Staunton)
  • "Little Miss Sweetness" (Robinson)
  • "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (Edward Holland, Jr., Norman Whitfield)

• Greatest Hits (1966)
  • "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" (recorded in 1966, E. Holland, Whitfield)

• Temptations Live! (1966)
  • "I Want a Love I Can See" (Robinson) – shared with Paul Williams (who was the only lead on the studio version) and Eddie Kendrick for this live performance
  • "Yesterday"/"What Now My Love" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Gilbert Bécaud, Pierre Delanoë, Carl Sigman) – Ruffin does a soulful rendition of McCartney's "Yesterday". He also sings Bécaud's "What Now My Love" with Melvin Franklin doing speaking parts in French.

• The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul (1967)
  • "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (Cornelius Grant, E. Holland, Whitfield)
  • "Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone" (Grant, Sylvia Moy, Whitfield)
  • "All I Need" (Frank Wilson, E. Holland, R. Dean Taylor)
  • "(Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need" (E. Holland, Whitfield)
  • "Just One Last Look" (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
  • "Sorry is a Sorry Word" (E. Holland, Hunter)
  • "You're My Everything" (Roger Penzabene, Grant, Whitfield) – shared with Eddie Kendrick
  • "Now That You've Won Me" (Robinson)

• The Temptations in a Mellow Mood (1967)
  • "Hello, Young Lovers" (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) – vocal ensemble; Ruffin has brief solos
  • "Somewhere" (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim)
  • "I'm Ready for Love" (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
  • "What Now My Love" (Bécaud, Delanoë, Sigman)
  • "The Impossible Dream" (Joe Darion, Mitch Leigh)

• The Temptations Wish It Would Rain (1968)
  • "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)" (Penzabene, Barrett Strong, Whitfield)
  • "Cindy" (Robinson)
  • "I Wish It Would Rain" (Penzabene, Strong, Whitfield)
  • "Fan the Flame" (Al Cleveland, Terry "Buzzy" Johnson, Robinson)
  • "He Who Picks a Rose" (E. Holland, Emilio "Father" Smiley, Whitfield)
  • "Why Did You Leave Me Darling" (James Dean, Deke Richards)
  • "I've Passed This Way Before" (Dean, William Weatherspoon)

• Later Releases (Found on the Emperors of Soul box set released in 1994 and the Lost and Found: You've Got to Earn It (1962–1968) LP released in 1999)
  • "I Got Heaven Right Here on Earth" (recorded in 1966, Eddie Kendrick, E. Holland)
  • "Angel Doll" (recorded in 1967) (Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, Stevie Wonder)
  • "What Am I Gonna Do Without You" (recorded in 1966, Hunter, Wonder)
  • "Love Is What You Make It" (Robinson)
  • "I Know She's Not a Mannequin" (John Bristol, Shena Dermell, Harvey Fuqua)
  • "Only a Lonely Man Would Know" (Hunter, Beatrice Verdi)
  • "That'll Be the Day" (recorded in 1965, Henry Cosby, Moy, Stevenson)
  • "We'll Be Satisfied" (recorded in 1967, Marc Gordon, F. Wilson) – shared with Eddie Kendrick and Paul Wiliams

Solo discography

Albums

David Ruffin

Year	Album	Chart positions
		U.S. 200	U.S. R&B
1969	My Whole World Ended First studio album Released on May 1, 1969 Labels: Motown	31	1
	Feelin' Good Second studio album Released in November, 1969 Labels: Motown	148	9
1971	David Previously un-released studio album Released on June 25, 2004 Labels: Hip-O Records	—	—
1973	David Ruffin Third studio album Released in February, 1973 Labels: Motown	160	34
1974	Me 'N Rock 'N Roll Are Here To Stay Fourth studio album Released in December, 1974 Labels: Motown	—	37
1975	Who I Am Fifth studio album Released on October 1, 1975 Labels: Motown	31	5
1976	Everything's Coming Up Love Sixth studio album Released on May 1, 1976 Labels: Motown	51	16
1977	In My Stride Seventh studio album Released on June 1, 1977 Labels: Motown	—	36
1979	So Soon We Change Eighth studio album Released in 1979 Labels: Warner Bros. Records	—	19
1980	Gentleman Ruffin Ninth and last solo studio album Released in 1980 Labels: Warner Bros. Records	—	66

The Ruffin Brothers

Year	Album	Chart positions
		U.S. 200	U.S. R&B
1970	I Am My Brother's Keeper First and only studio album released by The Ruffin Brothers (consisting of David Ruffin and his brother Jimmy Ruffin Released in 1970 Labels: Motown	178	15

Ruffin & Kendrick

Year	Album	Chart positions
		U.S. 200	U.S. R&B
1988	Ruffin & Kendrick First and only studio album released by Ruffin & Kendrick (consisting of David Ruffin and fellow Temptation Eddie Kendrick) Released in 1988 Labels: RCA Records	—	60

Singles

• On the Tamla Motown Label (UK)
  • "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)"/"I've Got to Find Myself a Brand New Baby" (7", TMG689 NOTE: also released directly by Motown [M-1140])
  • "I've Lost Everything I've Ever Loved"/"We'll Have a Good Thing Going On" (7", TMG711 NOTE: also released directly by Motown [M-1149])
  • "Blood Donors Needed (Give All You Can)"/"Take Me Clear From Here" (7", TMG936)
  • "Walk Away from Love"/"Love Can Be Hazardous to Your Health" (7", TMG1017)
  • "Heavy Love"/"Me and Rock & Roll (Are Here To Stay)" (7", TMG1022)
  • "Discover Me"/"Smiling Faces Sometimes" (7", TMG1036)
  • "I Can't Stop the Rain"/"My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)" (7", TMG1078)
  • "Rode By the Place (Where We Used To Live) /You're My Peace Of Mind (7", TMG1093)

• On the Motorcity label (UK)
  • "Hurt the One You Love" (12", MOTC 33, 1991)

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "100 Greatest Singers Of All Time". rollingstone.com. pp. 65. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/24161972/page/65. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
2. ^ "The Temptations at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". rockhall.com. http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/the-temptations. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Noriyuki, Duane (1988-05-26). "Low notes for David Ruffin". soulbot.com. http://www.soulbot.com/David%20Ruffin%20bad%20news.htm. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "Classic Soul". soul-patrol.com. http://www.soul-patrol.com/soul/temps.htm. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
5. ^ Williams and Romanowski (1988), pp. 68-70.
6. ^ ^{a b c} Blair, Elizabeth. "My Girl". npr.org. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1074993. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
7. ^ Ribowsky, Mark (2010). Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-26117-0. Pg. 171
8. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 363. ISBN 0-214-20512-6. 
9. ^ "David Ruffin, 50, An Original Singer In the Temptations". The New York Times. 1991-06-02. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/02/obituaries/david-ruffin-50-an-original-singer-in-the-temptations.html?sec=&spon=. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
10. ^ Probe into the missing $40,000 missing from the late singer David Ruffin continues Jet. Jun 24, 1991
11. ^ John A. Drobnicki, "Ruffin, Davis Eli ('David')," in The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Vol. III: 1991-1993 (Scribner's, 2001), pp. 461-462.
12. ^ ^{a b} Cheryl Ruffin-Steinback, et al. v. Suzanne De Passe, et al. Appeal filed Sept 28, 2001 in United States Court of Appeals. Text available here
13. ^ Smith, Vern E. (1991-01-17). "David Ruffin's Sad Finale". newsweek.com. http://www.newsweek.com/id/126778. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
14. ^ ^{a b} Stewart, Rod (2005-04-22). "The Immortals - The Greatest Artists of All Time: 67) The Temptations". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7248229/the_immortals__the_greatest_artists_of_all_time_67_the_temptations. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 

• Ribowsky. Mark – Ain't too proud to beg: the troubled lives and enduring soul of the Temptations / John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, N.J., ©2010.

External links

Biography portal

• David Ruffin at the Internet Movie Database
• David Ruffin at Allmusic
• Audio Interview David Ruffin/Eddie Kendrick (1991)
• David Ruffin at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Ruffin, David
Alternative names	Ruffin, Davis Eli
Short description	Singer, musician
Date of birth	January 18, 1941
Place of birth	Whynot, Mississippi, U.S.
Date of death	June 1, 1991
Place of death	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.