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. 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. 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! _taboola.push({ _taboola.push({ When we think of David Ruffin, we think of The Temps and soul R&B, which is why we were pretty surprised that . Not only did David not get his name above the group's, but he was dismissed from the group in 1968. Subscribe to our newsletter. Edwards moved to Florissant, Missouri in the 1980s to be closer to his mother. That person\s name is Otis Williams, and he is also a record producer and actor. The man most of us know by his unmistakable, calming yet disturbed raspy voice was born Davis Eli Ruffin on January 18, 1941, in Whynot, Mississippi. David didn't have hits with either label, but they were good showcases for his vocal ability and talent. Check out a little bit of Davids vocal. THIS IS TO ALL OF YOU THAT EITHER THOUGHT OF MY FATHER YESTERDAY OR ONE OF HIS FAMILY MEMBERS ON HIS DEATHAVERSARY: The Day after my "22 years later" . David Melvin English was born on 12th October 1942, in Montgomery, Alabama, in the US. Eli would take them from church to church on Sundays, and people would feel sorry for these motherless children, Gina said. In the mid-1980s, he attempted a solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "Don't Look Any Further" (featuring Siedah Garrett). 7-May-1939) Wife: Joy Hamilton (m. Apr-1976, div.) In January 1999, it was ruled that Edwards was legally barred from using the band's name, which led Edwards's group to be called The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards. }); Copyright 2015 . David Ruffin Jr. is known for Real Bloodlines (2015), The Making of: Running Out of Time and Without U (2022). 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. She had abusive relationships with James Brown and David Ruffin James Brown. Edwards's Don't Look Any Further: the Remix Album was released in 1998, containing updated dance mixes and the original 1984 track. I can speak for ALL US RUFFINS in saying. 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. David Ruffin Jr. was busted by LAPD shortly after midnight. Trending. However, Ruffin, who was attempting to make his way back into the group, crashed the stage during Edwards's lead vocal on "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" to significant applause. Later that year, he was assigned to join The Contours after their lead singer, Billy Gordon, fell ill.[2] In 1967, the Contours were the opening act for several Temptations concerts, and Temptations members Eddie Kendricks and Otis Williams who were considering replacing their own lead singer, David Ruffin (who was a personal friend of Edwards),[7] took notice of Edwards and made his acquaintance. His voice was really good and helped the group become famous. The track was recorded at Fredrick Knight's recording studio in the duo's old home town of Birmingham, Alabama; it was produced and engineered by house music pioneer Alan Steward. As long as Id known David, he was always a very complex guy, very intense about things, Williams wrote in his 1988 memoir, Temptations. [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. He moved to Philadelphia in 1989, lived with a girlfriend, Diane Showers, and palled around with Linster Butch Murrell, the owner of a small limo service. Family (2) Trivia (5) Cousin of Jimmy Ruffin Jr.. Half-sister of Cheryl Ruffin, Nedra Ruffin, and Kimberly Ruffin-Jones. It's unclear what kind of injuries the woman allegedly suffered. But Ruffin also reached out to his brother Quincy in 1991, and suggested they go back to Mississippi, and walk along a lake together, their feet in the sand. When we think of David Ruffin, we think of The Temps and soul R&B, which is why we were pretty surprised that his . Download our mobile app now. The performances at the Uptown in the 1960s compelled a young Daryl Hall to finagle his way backstage, where he was befriended by his idols. 1 in 1965, and has since been played 498 million times on the streaming service Spotify and a string of other instantly recognizable classics: Aint Too Proud to Beg, I Wish It Would Rain, (I Know) Im Losing You.. Candi Staton saw in Ruffin a lust for life that could take different forms. He could still sing raspy songs of regret better than anyone listen to his howls on 1973s I Miss You (Part 1) but peers like Marvin Gaye were tackling weightier topics, like the Vietnam War, poverty, and social unrest. She was a native of Suffolk, Virginia where she attended East Suffolk His father, Eli Ruffin, was a Baptist minister. 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.. His voice proved to be powerful, as he went on to sing lead on Temptations hits that brought joy and happiness in the turbulent times of the 1960s. Mother: Ophelia Ruffin (d. before David was one year old) Brother: Jimmy Ruffin (b. 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. Fate drew him back to Philadelphia in the 1980s, when he was far removed from the limelight, and on the other side of an up-and-down solo career. 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. We humbly honor the old school soul music era and will keep pushing forward to keep it alive. [citation needed] Edwards was portrayed by Charles Ley in the 1998 biographical television mini-series The Temptations, though he was not heavily focused upon, as the mini-series gave more attention to the Ruffin/Kendricks-era Temptations lineup. Glad to know that there is a David Ruffin Jr. that has great talent like his father. iloveoldschoolmusic.com. The song stayed at #1 for eight weeks, and the rest is history. Paul Williams had sickle-cell disease and was frequently in poor health. June 25, 1936 - February 16, 2023 Our beloved mother/matriarch, Mrs. Octavia Anderson Ruffin departed her earthly life on February 16, 2023 at her residence 317 St. James Ave. She lived at her residence for over 60 years. It was shortly before 3 a.m. on June 1 when Brown pulled up to the emergency room entrance to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and told hospital staff that his passenger, David Ruffin, had overdosed. Ruffin, 58, died May 19 at . 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"). In 1962, a 17-year-old Terrell became involved in an abusive relationship with singer . Six-foot-two and lamppost skinny, his face framed by thick, dark eyeglasses, Ruffins vocal cords powered the Temptations most popular song, My Girl it went to No. 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. Otis Williams, the last surviving original Temptation, once recalled that Ruffin was a lively, funny guy prone to doing cartwheels while they walked down the street, who offered little about his background, no matter how much time the two spent together. David's voice will continue to bridge the generation gap just as it crossed the color lines in the sixties and seventies. [10] When problems arose between Woodson and the Temptations in 1987, Edwards was brought back once again. Ruffin is buried in section three at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit. [9] Edwards was also inducted into Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame with The Temptations in 2013. 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. [2] He attempted to get a release from his contract, as HollandDozierHolland had promised to sign him to their new Invictus Records, but was drafted in late June 1968 to join the Temptations, who had just fired Ruffin from the act. "Mr. Eli would take them from church to church on Sundays, and people would feel sorry for these motherless children," Gina said. [15], Edwards died in a Illinois hospital on February 1, 2018, at the age of 74, two days before his 75th birthday. He just needed a stage. Ruffin ventured inside, and somehow got his hands on a microphone. I felt like I was watching myself from above. From a seat in the audience, he began to serenade her. The joy and sadness in his songs can be felt by all. He has a lot of money. 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. But David Ruffin could sing like a hurricane, and possessed an innate sense of how to connect with people, how to make them smile and laugh and feel what he felt. Himself, Do you know something we don't? The man was a walking skeleton.. He passed away tragically from a drug overdose in 1991 when Nedra was 27. During the 1990s, Edwards began touring under the name "Dennis Edwards & the Temptations", prompting a legal battle between himself and Otis Williams. 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). We hope you have enjoyed this blog celebrating the life and career of Mrs. Ruffin. David Jr. can SANG just like his daddy too. Nedra Ruffin, daughter of the late R&B singer and Meridian native David Ruffin of the Temptations, was described as loving, kind, sweet individual with a heart of gold. David Parker Ray was born in Belen, New Mexico and died in Hobbs, New Mexico. Thank you for carrying this torch for me. [3] The album of the same name reached No. Edwards had a relationship with singer Aretha Franklin, who stated he was the inspiration behind her 1972 soul song "Day Dreaming". He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. I dont want to get too hippy-dippy about it, but I felt like I was out of my body., They repeated the experience at Live Aid, and then Oates produced a song, One More for The Lonely Hearts Club, that Ruffin and Kendricks recorded for a 1987 album. AKA Davis Eli Ruffin. David Ruffin was a singer in the group The Temptations from 1964 to 1968. The Temptations should do some music with him and bring that old Motown sound back again. He is happy to talk about his experience with sobriety and how it has helped him in his life. With his rougher gospel-hewn vocals, Edwards led the group through its psychedelic, funk, and disco periods, singing on hits such as "Cloud Nine" (1968), "I Can't Get Next to You" (1969), "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" (1970), "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (1972), and "Shakey Ground" (1975), among others. When Ray saw his biological father, he was physically abused. 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. But he took me with him, and told me that the business aspect of it was not so fun. There werent many paths to wealth and stardom for Black people in Southern states that were still trapped, in the 1940s and 1950s, under the oppressive weight of Jim Crow laws and segregation. David Ruffin Jr. was busted by LAPD. 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. Did you know that David Ruffin had a son? He wanted to get back to what life was really all about, his niece said. #SolGoode & #SolLovee Jo. Only months after his birth his mother Ophelia Ruffin died, and his father later remarried, to a schoolteacher. He didnt write those songs, but he owned them. He eventually reunited with former Temptations colleague Eddie Kendricks (who was now also a solo artist) in 1986, and they began touring and performing with 'Artists Against Apartheid', Live-Aid, and Hall & Oates. After the New Year's Eve performance, (when the Tempts and David ate at Melvin's house) David told a story of how his mother gave him up to a pimp as Payment for a debt. She told. As the bands popularity grew, they toured relentlessly with other Motown artists along the Chitlin Circuit, a network of clubs and theaters on the East Coast, the Midwest, and the South that were welcoming to Black performers. . 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. Hell be all right.. Almost 10 years later,. Below is David Ruffin Jr.s music video, Cry Cry Cry. It's unclear what kind of injuries the woman allegedly suffered. In his later years, he struggled with substance abuse and died in 1991 after an adverse reaction to cocaine and other drugs. He and the group recorded the album entitled Together Again, featuring the hit single "I Wonder Who She's Seeing Now". In the mid-1980s, he attempted a solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "Don't Look Any . David Sr. would probably be beaming with pride right about now. They could team up with Smokey Robinson again and write some good old fashion love songs like they use to do. David Ruffin was a singer in the group the Temptations. When we think of David Ruffin, we think of The Temps and soul R&B, which is why we were pretty surprised that his son was so instrumental in the rap culture,helping to create someclassicthatll probably be around formany generations to come, (R) Late Temptations singer, David Ruffin ; (L) his son, David Ruffin Jr. Best of 2022 Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. Ruffin wanted to end the session early and leave with his friends, but a producer insisted that he needed to stay. Ruffin was born Davis Eli Ruffin on January 18, 1941, in Whynot, Mississippi. 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. 3 Rose Franklin disputes the manner in which the mini-series depicted the final days of her son, Melvin. At age 13, he left home. David began singing and touring at a very young age with his father and siblings in a gospel group. David Ruffin was a singer with the group the Temptations. (L) David Ruffin with son, David Jr.; (R) David Ruffin. His mother died during childbirth, and he was raised by his father, a Baptist minister. He was raised by his father (who was a strict Baptist minister) and his new wife who was a teacher. Among many others, David wrote and sang the chorus for Mtv's & VH1's all time Top 100 Hip-Hop songs, "Gin & Juice", ranked at #8. Let me know when youre ready to sing! . 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Among many others, David wrote and sang the chorus for Mtv's & VH1's all time Top 100 Hip-Hop songs, "Gin & Juice", ranked at #8. Who replaced David Ruffin in the Temptations? 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. Ruffin was best known for being part of the musical group the Temptations during their \Classic Five\ period. Listen to your favorite songs from David Ruffin Jr.. You know, sometimes legends come back. Dennis Edwards was a singer in the group the Temptations. [citation needed] The Temptations Review group was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame on October 4, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan, when Edwards was also given the Living Legend Award. Paul Williams and John Williams are brothers. 2023 EHM PRODUCTIONS,INC. target_type: 'mix' He then moved to Detroit, Michigan, and was signed to Anna Records in 1960 and then Check-Mate Records in 1961. Robinson soon wrote a tune with Ruffin in mind, something slow and sweet. [2] In 1961 he organized his own soul/jazz group, Dennis Edwards and the Fireballs. His father Eli worked as a truck driver at numerous lumber mills, and his mother Ophelia worked out of their home. In 1982, Ruffin participated in a short-lived Temptations reunion; the band quickly lost patience when he missed some of their scheduled concerts. I remember the stepmother being interviewed after the show. Daughter of David Ruffin. iloveoldschoolmusic.com. 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. We humbly honor the old school soul music era and will keep pushing forward to keep it alive. In 1964 he joined The Temptations, who had yet to chart a hit, at Motown Records. Legends are never forgotten and David Ruffin IS a musical LEGEND. He taught me how to drive, took me to get my license, and taught us how to ride horses, Cheryl Ruffin-Robinson said. That's what the family was suing Otis for when the movie was released. In 1990, Dennis teamed up with Kendricks to release a dance/club track for A&B Records entitled "Get It While It's Hot". A relationship with another Motown star, the Philadelphia native Tammi Terrell, was shadowed by rumors of physical violence, which Ruffins family later denied. The Temptations are a group of singers who have been around for a long time. After a failed attempt at a Motown solo career, Edwards rejoined the Temptations in 1980, when they returned to Motown. 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. \No longer can we afford to be silent or have that drug dealer on the street corner\ . David Jr. can SANG just like his daddy too. His biological father was a preacher in a church. [8] Edwards was the first singer to join the Temptations after their "Classic 5" period. He is buried in Detroit\'s Woodlawn Cemetery. There were hints that Ruffins future would be tumultuous. He was one of the original lead singers of the group. Ruffin was arrested in the late 80s for drug possession, and went through rehabilitation. Classic indeed! He wasnt interested in trying to get us to sing, she laughed. Yes, there is a David Ruffin Jr. [12] Edwards's group included Paul Williams Jr. (son of original Temptations member Paul Williams), David Sea, Mike Patillo, and Chris Arnold. The original members are all gone now, but the group is still going. We now understand why his dad was so adamant about Jr.s other musical abilities. Subscribe 30K views 8 years ago The son of late Motown legend David Ruffin was arrested early Tuesday morning and booked for felony domestic violence. Rod Stewart, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Diana Ross, the Spinners, and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas also sent floral arrangements. Ruffin the voice of Motown classics like My Girl died at age 50 in 1991. [3] The 1998 Street Gold DVD Original Leads of the Temptations documents this historic period. But David Ruffin died in Philadelphia on June 1, 1991, the victim of what doctors determined to be an accidental overdose of cocaine. 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. Tensions arose when David asked for billing before the group, a practice common among vocal groups of the time. Ruffin, 58, died May 19 at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak as a result of complications from COVID-19. David Ruffin's parents were both natives of Mississippi. Edwards was again replaced by Woodson in 1989 after leaving the group for a third and final time. Paul Williams is a famous musician who has been sober for 23 years. If you think the music business had any kind of social conscience in those days, Oates said, youre dreaming.. From a young age, David Jr. recognized his father, David Ruffin Sr., was famous and he loved seeing him perform on stage as lead vocalist of The Temptations on many of their biggest hits. Paul is a songwriter and actor, while John was a distinguished NASA engineer. Sometimes he was a fun-loving wild child in search of thrills; other times, he could turn self-destructive. Subsequent releases failed, however, as did duets with his brother Jimmy Ruffin. His name is David Ruffin Jr. and he is not only a song-writer, but a singer like his Dad as well. I believe that we all grow up at some point. According to Rose, she was impregnated by him through "non-consensual relations." #beforidie https://t.co/bTLTD5cDrx t.co Genna Sapia Ruffin on Twitter ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. He was a very complicated person.. The Four Tops are a famous Motown group from the 1960s. Nedra Ruffin's father, David Ruffin, sang lead for the Temptations in the 60s and went solo in the 1970s. http://t.co/MeInnux8wU _THE INKPOST https://medium.com/tag/the-inkpost. The two men argued, and disappeared from view. And proof that a mother's job is never done! He sounds quite a bit like his father to me. He died of an overdose of cocaine and morphine. He fed it to his dog, and asked his surprised hosts: You got any baby food? David Ruffin then tucked into a jar of baby peaches, and quietly explained that he was plagued by an ulcer. 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). Original lead singers of the Temptations after their `` Classic 5 '' period ; ( R ) david Jr. Do some music with him, and he is not only a song-writer, but he was david ruffin jr mother! Can be felt by all at a very young age with his,! 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