Williams, who grew up in Texas, packed up and moved to Michigan with his mother when he was 10 (his parents separated shortly after Williams was born). His father, Eli Ruffin, was a Baptist minister. David Ruffin of the Temptations had a daughter named Nedra Ruffin. Ruffin was best known for being part of the musical group the Temptations during their \Classic Five\ period. [3] In 1982, Edwards got the chance to sing with Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks as part of the Reunion album and tour. [citation needed], Edwards toured and recorded with fellow ex-Temptation David Ruffin during the late 1980s as "Ruffin/Kendricks/Edwards, former leads of The Temptations", although nothing was released. Through her photos and stories, we have been able to provide a glimpse into her life, her work, and what she meant to those who knew her. Leaving home at 13 to pursue the ministry, it was David's select showmanship that caught the eyes of some in the secular music industry. I felt like I was watching myself from above. He died in 1991, and his funeral was paid for by Michael Jackson. On October 5, 1971, he officially left The Temptations. David Jr. also revealed that he worked on several Death Row Records albums, helping to create Dr. Dres B*t*hes Aint S*it (Chronic album); Snoop Doggs songs, The Shiznit (Doggystyle album) and Gs Up Hoes Down (Doggystyle Album); Tupacs Ambitionz Az A Ridah (All Eyez On Me album), and he also worked on songs from the 8 Mile and Poetic Justice soundtracks, among others. In his later years, he struggled with substance abuse and died in 1991 after an adverse reaction to cocaine and other drugs. When the world lost David Ruffin, it lost a life too short-lived, a heavenly voice, and a whimsical, charismatic man. [5][6] His last major duty assignment was with Headquarters Battery, 2nd Howitzer Battalion, 35th Artillery, Seventh Army. AKA Davis Eli Ruffin. [9] Edwards was also inducted into Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame with The Temptations in 2013. During the 1990s, Edwards began touring under the name "Dennis Edwards & the Temptations", prompting a legal battle between himself and Otis Williams. The track created a lot of controversy, as it contained a short rap sequence which did not sit very well with die-hard Temptations fans. As the son of the late singer David Ruffin, the legendary former lead singer of the Temptations, there will always be comparisons to his father. David was hanging with a bad crew, Hall said. He is still with the Temptations, and 27 singers have served time with the quintet. Thank you for joining us! target_type: 'mix' Let me know when youre ready to sing! . It could have been a storybook start to a third act revival. Edwards moved to Florissant, Missouri in the 1980s to be closer to his mother. Oh, I knocked him out cold, Ruffin said, shaking his hand. David began singing and touring at a very young age with his father and siblings in a gospel group. His family believes his legacy was distorted by media attention on his struggles with addiction. #ourownpace. Her father, Quincy Ruffin, a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, had long insisted that he had been an orphan. David proved that he can get down with the best of em, just like his pops. The Ruffins mother died when David was a baby, and their father, Eli Ruffin, later forced the siblings to become a singing group the Spiritual Trying Four. His mother died during childbirth, and he was raised by his father, a Baptist minister. It wasnt called a disease. David Sr. would probably be beaming with pride right about now. It is David Ruffin Jr. we can partly thank for that, because he wrote the timeless hook: Rollin down the street, smokin indo, sippin on gin and juice/ Laid back (with my mind on my money and my money on my mind). As you can see, the brothas pretty talented, and has found a way to combine his love for hip hop with his soulful singing ability. Get TMZ breaking news sent right to your browser. In the past years, highly touted music publications such as The Rolling Stone, The Source and Rap Pages have labeled him as "talented and up-and-coming" ButDavid credits his father, along with current soloist, Joe, Usher, Anthony Hamilton and 80s crooners, Alexander ONeal, James D-Train Williams, and the great Marvin Gaye as the major influences on his style of singing. [13] Edwards was briefly married to Ruth Pointer, whom he wed in Las Vegas in 1977. David Ruffin was a singer in the Motown group The Temptations. Ruffin wanted to end the session early and leave with his friends, but a producer insisted that he needed to stay. He is happy to talk about his experience with sobriety and how it has helped him in his life. As long as Id known David, he was always a very complex guy, very intense about things, Williams wrote in his 1988 memoir, Temptations. Robinson soon wrote a tune with Ruffin in mind, something slow and sweet. But his family and friends felt his achievements were diminished, when he died, by news coverage that all but blamed him for having struggled with addictions. Yes, there is a David Ruffin Jr. Ruffins ability to embody the ecstasy and agony of songs about love gained and lost cast an unbreakable spell on countless admirers who once watched, slack-jawed, as he and the Temptations, and other Motown legends, dazzled crowds. Candi Staton saw in Ruffin a lust for life that could take different forms. He was one of the original lead singers of the group. They are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan. His mother, Ophelia, died when David was 10 months old due to complications of childbirth. Marvin Gaye / #MarvinGayeLou Rawls / #LouRawls andDavid Ruffin / #DavidRuffin (Lead singer of the #Temptations). Edwards had a relationship with singer Aretha Franklin, who stated he was the inspiration behind her 1972 soul song "Day Dreaming". The Son of a Legend, David Ruffin Jr, understands the expectations that have been placed upon him, but hopefully once his voice is heard, it might become more pleasantly obvious, that he does his best to continue the RUFFIN Soul! In 1962, a 17-year-old Terrell became involved in an abusive relationship with singer . [8] When Ruffin failed to show for his return engagement in Gaithersburg, Maryland the next night, Edwards was permanently kept on and the Temptations refused to entertain rehiring Ruffin any further. This . She remembers holiday dinners and birthdays drenched in laughter and filled with food. David Ruffin Jr. was busted by LAPD. But that is not your life.. The Temptations officially introduced Edwards on July 9, 1968 on stage in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Mother: Ophelia Ruffin (d. before David was one year old) Brother: Jimmy Ruffin (b. Yep Jimmy Ruffin is still alive, although he is a very reclusive and private person. Stream ad-free with Amazon Music Unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. Ruffin had made a compelling case for the position after he climbed onstage with the band in a Detroit lounge, and began throwing the microphone up in the air, catching it, doing full splits, plus singing like a man possessed, Williams wrote. When David Ruffin was a child, his mother died and his father made him sing in a group called the Spiritual Trying Four. iloveoldschoolmusic.com. David Ruffin\s funeral was paid for by Michael Jackson, who also sent a floral arrangement. For three decades, Ruffins friends and family have mulled the what-ifs that haunt anyone who has lost someone they love to drug addiction, which has only recently come to be treated as a health epidemic, instead of a crime. But he one day admitted that he had a sister, Rita Mae, and two famous brothers: David, the Temptation, and Jimmy Ruffin, a Motown artist who sang What Becomes of the Brokenhearted.. He and the group recorded the album entitled Together Again, featuring the hit single "I Wonder Who She's Seeing Now". Dennis Edwards was a singer in the group the Temptations. The Temptations should do some music with him and bring that old Motown sound back again. David Jr. can SANG just like his daddy too. We now understand why his dad was so adamant about Jr.s other musical abilities. [3] During this time, Edwards was engaged to Yvonne "Frankie" Gearing, the lead singer of Quiet Elegance, who toured with The Temptations as their backing group. David Melvin English was born on 12th October 1942, in Montgomery, Alabama, in the US. He left the group in 1977 to pursue a solo career, but rejoined them later. I remember the stepmother being interviewed after the show. Later that year, the group had their first hit, the Smokey Robinson-penned single The Way You Do the Things You Do. When Ruffin was told that the song was climbing the Billboard charts, he burst into tears. Few of the songs charted and he blamed Motown for not properly promoting his music. Offstage, Ruffin was a jumble of contradictions playful but short-tempered, ambitious but hindered by hidden demons, at a time when substance abuse and mental health were widely misunderstood. and found a woman with visible. If you have heard of the Temptations from Motown, you probably know David Ruffin. When the crack cocaine epidemic surged in the 1980s, government leaders responded with tactics that disproportionately criminalized and punished people who had addictions, particularly in Black communities. But David Ruffin died in Philadelphia on June 1, 1991, the victim of what doctors determined to be an accidental overdose of cocaine. For other people named Dennis Edwards, see, An audio sample of "Don't Look Any Further", 19901994: Ruffin, Kendricks, and Edwards, The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today), "Don't Look Any Further" by Dennis Edwards, "Classic concert: Dennis Edwards back in Magic City with Temptations Review", #VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Dennis Edwards, Dennis Edwards obituary; Lead singer of the Temptations whose gritty vocals brought urgency and drama to hits such as Papa Was a Rollin Stone and Cloud Nine, List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, "Ex-Temptations Singer Dennis Edwards Loses His Court Battle to Use Temptations Name", "Throwback Clip: Aretha Franklin talks writing 'Day Dreaming' about Dennis Edwards", "Topically Yours: Dennis Edwards Interview (podcast)]", "Legendary Temptations singer Dennis Edwards, of Florissant, dies at 74", "Dennis Edwards, Temptations Lead Singer, Dead At 74", "Temptations Former Lead Singer Dennis Edwards Dead at 74", "DENNIS EDWARDS - full Official Chart History", Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations, Lost and Found: You've Got to Earn It (19621968), I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You), Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dennis_Edwards&oldid=1141040792, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from January 2018, All articles needing additional references, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 01:44. Picture: Getty In an episode of music documentary series Unsung, it was revealed that Terrell suffered from health, mental and physical trauma after being raped when she was a teenager on her way home from school by three boys.. He passed away tragically from a drug overdose in 1991 when Nedra was 27. He sounds quite a bit like his father to me. Everything in the world was changing, and I think David was in this position where people were just having him sing the same kinds of things, instead of trying to figure out who David was, said Paul Barker, the Motown Museums director of development and community activation. Of particular interest was whether someone had robbed Ruffin, who had recently toured with Kendricks and another ex-Temptation, Dennis Edwards; one of Ruffins managers suggested he could have carried as much as $40,000 on him the night he died, but he arrived at the hospital with just $53. He was a very complicated person.. David Ruffin Jr. was busted by LAPD shortly after midnight. [11] After the deaths of Ruffin and Kendricks, Edwards was forced to wrap up the project alone. Sometimes he was a fun-loving wild child in search of thrills; other times, he could turn self-destructive. She told. [3] In 1961,[4] Edwards recorded a single for the obscure Detroit label, International Soulville Records, "I Didn't Have to (But I Did)" b/w "Johnnie on the Spot". David Jr. also revealed that he worked on several Death Row Records albums, helping to create Dr. Dres B*t*hes Aint S*it (Chronic album); Snoop Doggs songs, The Shiznit (Doggystyle album) and Gs Up Hoes Down (Doggystyle Album); Tupacs Ambitionz Az A Ridah (All Eyez On Me album), and he also worked on songs from the 8 Mile and Poetic Justice soundtracks, among others. Only months after his birth his mother Ophelia Ruffin died, and his father later remarried, to a schoolteacher. Law enforcement sources tell us officers responded to a home in the San Fernando Valley and found a woman with visible injuries, and Ruffin Jr. was taken into custody. The Four Tops are a famous Motown group from the 1960s. mode: 'thumbnails-rr1', We hope you have enjoyed this blog celebrating the life and career of Mrs. Ruffin. A Hip-Hop Classic with Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg, and has worked with other stellar artists such as Kurupt, Daz, Nate Dogg, Sisquo & Jazz of DruHill, just to name a few. [8] He continued similar stunts for about a month until, according to Edwards, the group decided to lay-off Edwards with the promise of a solo deal from Motown and rehire Ruffin. [2], As a teenager, Edwards joined a gospel vocal group called The Mighty Clouds of Joy, and studied music at the Detroit Conservatory of Music. Daughter: Cheryl Daughter: Nedra Son: David, Jr. Snoop Dogg might not be the legendary Snoop that he is today, if it hadnt been for his 1993 classic, Gin and Juice, setting his career on fire. We humbly honor the old school soul music era and will keep pushing forward to keep it alive. Only months after his birth his mother Ophelia Ruffin died, and his father later remarried, to a schoolteacher.David began singing and touring at a very young age with his father and siblings in a gospel group. He was Still under contract at Motown, though, and his solo career got off to a promising start with the ballad "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me"). When he was a kid in rural Mississippi, living, for a time, in a house with no running water, he dreamed of being a famous performer. Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder sang at the funeral of David Ruffin, a singer from the Temptations. 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