“My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)” was David Ruffin’s first solo hit after he left the Temptations. It’s also today’s classic song of the day.
David Ruffin was 23 years old when he joined the Temptations in 1964. He’d moved from Mississippi, where he’d been born, to Detroit when he was 16 years old and released a few records under the name of Little David Bush, Bush being the surname of his guardian, a minister named Eddie Bush. He met Berry Gordy, Jr., soon to be Motown’s founder, in 1957, when he was living with Gordy’s father. In fact, Ruffin helped “Pop” Gordy do the construction work on the building that would become Hitsville USA, Motown’s headquarters.
Ruffin apprenticed (alongside Marvin Gaye) at Anna Records, a small Detroit-based label, and sang and played drums with the Voice Masters, a doo-wop combo that also included future Motown hitmaker Lamont Dozier and future Temptation Melvin Franklin. Ruffin became friends with the Temptations when his brother Jimmy Ruffin was on a Motortown Revue tour with that group, and was invited to join up when founding member Elbridge “Al” Bryant was fired. David and Jimmy both auditioned for the group but they only hired David.
Initially, Ruffin sang background vocals, but eventually graduated to lead vocal duties. He sang lead on many of the Temptation’s biggest hits, including “My Girl,” “It’s Growing,” “Since I Lost My Baby,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Beauty is Only Skin Deep,” “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” “All I Need,” and “I Wish It Would Rain.”
By 1967, however, Ruffin’s relationship with the other members of the Temptations began to sour. He became addicted to cocaine and started missing rehearsals and performances. The star thing went to his head a little and he refused to travel with the other members of the group, demanding a custom limo for himself and his girlfriend, Tami Terrell. After Berry Gordy renamed the Supremes to Diana Ross & the Supremes, he lobbied for similar star billing for himself. Gordy refused to rename the group David Ruffin & the Temptations and things went from bad to worse. He was fired from the group in June of 1968, replaced by Dennis Edwards.
After a few legal skirmishes, Ruffin decided (or was forced to) stay with Motown and embarked on a new solo career. His first single, “My Whole Life Ended (The Moment You Left Me)” was written by the team of Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol, Pam Sawyer, and James Roach, and originally intended for the Temptations. Released in January of 1969, Ruffin’s single went all the way to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on Billboard’s R&B Singles chart.
David Ruffin went on to have several more solo hits, the biggest being 1975’s “Walk Away from Love.” His drug problems continued, however, and he passed away in 1991 of an accidental overdose of crack cocaine. He was 50 years old.
For today’s daily bonus video of the day, here’s David Ruffin in 1969, lip synching “My Whole Life Ended” on Upbeat, a syndicated television show produced by channel WNEW in Cleveland, Ohio. Whatever his personal demons, he was a helluva singer.
