Jango Song Of The Day-Jimmy Ruffin

Artist:Jimmy Ruffin
Song:What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted
Album:20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection: The Best Of Jimmy Ruffin





A lot of music fans probably think this song was recorded by Temptations lead singer David Ruffin. But What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted was the biggest hit by his older brother Jimmy Ruffin. He was born May 7, 1939 in Collinsville, MS and grew up singing in church in Detroit. Ruffin signed with Motown in 1961 but was drafted into the US Army. After his discharge, he was offered a spot in The Temptations but recommended David instead. I guess the problem with Jimmy Ruffin's career at Motown is he didn't usually get to work with the top production teams like Holland-Dozier-Holland or Smokey Robinson. What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted was produced by secondary Motown producer Mickey Stevenson and written by the team of James Dean and William Weatherspoon along with arranger Paul Riser. Dean wrote the song for The Spinners but Ruffin talked him into letting him sing it. Ruffin delivers a great vocal and it reached #7 on the pop charts. He had some lesser hits including one with his brother David but he left Motown in the mid-70s and had a top ten hit in 1980 with the Robin Gibb produced Hold On To My Love. Jimmy Ruffin moved to England in the 80s. He's recorded occasionally and even had a talk show for a while. He continues to perform today. This budget comp has all his Motown hits. Here's Jimmy Ruffin performing What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted on Top Of The Pops 1975.