About David

Ruffin was born Davis Eli Ruffin on January 18, 1941, in the rural unincorporated community of Whynot, Mississippi, 15 miles from Meridian, Mississippi. He was the third-born son of Elias "Eli" Ruffin, a Baptist minister, and Ophelia Ruffin. His siblings were Quincy B. Ruffin, Rita Mae Ruffin, and Jimmy Lee Ruffin. Ruffin also had another sister Rosine, who died in infancy.

 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. Ruffin sang in the choir at Mount Salem Methodist Church, talent shows, and wherever else he could. In 1955, at the age of 14, he left home under the guardianship of a minister, Eddie Bush, and went to Memphis, Tennessee, with the purpose of pursuing the ministry. 

At 15, Ruffin went to Hot Springs, Arkansas, with the jazz musician Phineas Newborn, Sr. There, they played at the Fifty Grand Ballroom and Casino. Billed as Little David Bush, 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. It was in Ruffin's travels as a teenager that he met such later popular personalities as Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Frankie Lymon, Bobby Womack, The Staple Singers, Swan Silver tones, and The Dixie Hummingbirds. 

In 1957, Ruffin met Berry Gordy Jr., then a songwriter with ambitions of running his own label. Ruffin lived with Gordy's father, a contractor, and helped "Pops" Gordy do construction work on the building that would become HITSVILLE USA, the headquarters for Gordy's Tamla Records (later Motown Records) label. Ruffin's brother Jimmy would eventually be signed to Tamla's Miracle Records label as an artist .  

In January 1964, Ruffin became a member of the Temptations after founding member Elbridge "Al" Bryant was released from the group. Ruffin's first recording session with the group was on January 9, 1964. Though both David and Jimmy were considered, David was given the edge, thanks to his performance skills. These were displayed when he joined the Temptations on stage during the label's New Year's Eve party in 1963.

The follow-ups to "My Girl" were also extremely successful singles, and included the Ruffin-led hits "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 Kendricks. The tall, 6'3", Ruffin's passionate and dramatic performances endeared him to the Temptations' audiences and fans.

Ruffin's most notable non-vocal contribution to the Temptations was the masterminding of their trademark four-headed microphone stand. This enabled the other members to sing and do their dances without having to crowd around one microphone while the lead singer would sing into a separate microphone.

Ruffin left the Temptations in the spring of 1968 for his solo career with his 1st smash hit  "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)". The single (from the album also entitled My Whole World Ended) was released in 1969 and reached the US Pop and R&B Top Ten. This was followed by the album Feelin' Good. A third album, titled David, was recorded in 1970–71, but was shelved by Motown and did not see commercial release until 2004.  

His final Top Ten hit was 1975's "Walk Away from Love", produced by Van McCoy, which reached number nine on the Pop Charts. It was also Ruffin's only entry into the UK Charts (as a solo artist), and was a hit there as well, making it into the Top Ten (peaking at #10) in early 1976. The single sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in February 1976.

Ruffin passed away on June 1, 1991, Ruffin was ranked as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and in 2013 into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame for his work with The Temptations and as a solo artist.