Motown star David Ruffin's life examined on TV One

It could be said that many of the artists featured on TV One's "Unsung" series really were "sung" in their day. One such artist is David Ruffin of the Temptations, the subject of Monday night's episode.

His gospel-infused, raspy voice helped make hits out of innumerable Temptations classics, including "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "My Girl," "I Wish it Would Rain" and "(I Know), I'm Losing You."

But the drama of a story like Ruffin's — and thus, his inclusion on Monday's episode of "Unsung" — is that one of Motown's most lustrous stars should have such a precipitous fall from grace and fame.

With Ruffin's colorful life, "Unsung" has a lot of ground to cover. He had a famously tempestuous relationship with Motown singer Tammi Terrell, about which few of his biographers agree.

TV One came to Detroit to interview Ruffin's ex-wife Sandra (mother of his three daughters Cheryl, Nedra and Kimberly), Temptations Otis Williams and Dennis Edwards and Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, among others. They also interviewed his California-based son, David Ruffin Jr., whose mother was Ruffin's girlfriend Genna Sapia.

Ruffin was born in Mississippi in 1941, but he came to Detroit while in his teens to take advantage of the city's thriving music scene.

Blessed with a gospel-infused, raspy baritone that oozed soul and pain, when he joined the Temptations in early 1964 he added a sizzle both onstage and in the studio that the group lacked. But with that excitement came turmoil. Riding high after a string of hits, Ruffin and the rest of the Tempts clashed over ego problems on both sides and his growing, drug-fueled unreliability.

In 1968 the singer was replaced by another gospel powerhouse, Dennis Edwards, but Motown hadn't given up on Ruffin just yet. He made some wonderful recordings for the company as a solo artist, including the hit song "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)" in 1969.
While Ruffin's career was championed by fellow artists including Rod Stewart and Hall & Oates (who did a tour with him), the 1970s and '80s were dominated by tax problems and issues with drugs. His life sadly ended in Philadelphia in 1991, after an accidental cocaine overdose.
TV One is carried in Metro Detroit by Comcast and AT&T. Past episodes — eventually including the Ruffin show — can be viewed online at tvone.tv.