The short-lived Miracle label, set up in 1961 and given a name change to Gordy in 1962, released just ten singles. Alongside the Temptations’ first two releases, there were two from the Valadiers, a White vocal harmony group who achieved Miracle’s only chart entry with “Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)” written by Bateman, Holland and Ronnie Dunbar. The song reached number eighty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart in 1961. The six remaining singles came from the Equadors, Pete Hartfield, Joel Sebastian, Don McKenzie, Freddie Gorman and Jimmy Ruffin.
Jimmy Ruffin was born in Collinsville, Mississippi, in 1936. He was the brother of David Ruffin. Together they joined the Gospel group the Dixie Nightingales, and dreamed of a career as singers.
Jimmy Ruffin Trade Ad. (Wikimedia Commons)
He came to Motown in 1961 to record “Don’t Feel Sorry For Me”/ “Heart”. Both tracks are bouncy mid-tempo dance tracks, sung with confidence, but they are typical of many Pop songs issued that year. They didn’t stand out.
He cut another single, “Half Of Your Love”, in 1962 but it was shelved, finally appearing on a compilation in 2003! After completing his military service, he was given another chance by Berry Gordy, who switched him to the Soul label. Ruffin was teamed up with Norman Whitfield, who wrote and produced “Since I’ve Lost You”, backed by the Whitfield/Eddie Holland composition “I Want Her Love”. Both tracks now have an orchestrated backing. “Since I’ve Lost You” is a slow ballad, focusing on the sadness of losing his girl. The bounce of the first single is replaced by the gentle swing of a love ballad. The song and arrangement are good, well-suited to Ruffin’s light soulful delivery, but it still didn’t catch the public’s attention. Ruffin had taken a job at the Ford car factory in Detroit back in 1961 and there he stayed, for now at least.
Ruffin returned to Studio A in 1965 to record one single during the year, which was issued in October. For the A-side, “As Long As There Is L-O-V-E Love”, he teamed up with writer/producer Smokey Robinson. The B-side was “How Can I Say I’m Sorry”, co-written by Norman Whitfield, Johnny Gilliam and the Contours’ Sylvester Potts, and produced by Whitfield. Three singles in his four and a half years with Motown seems to suggest a lack of confidence in him on Motown’s part, but Ruffin seems to have turned down opportunities to do more. Motown wanted him to replace Billy Gordon in the Contours, but he opted out. Nevertheless, these tracks show Ruffin growing in confidence as a singer, developing a smooth, warm approach to simple romantic ballads.
At the start of 1966, his luck finally changed, when he came to Studio A in February and heard a song that James Dean, William Weatherspoon and Paul Riser had written for the Spinners. Ruffin felt that the song suited him rather than them and managed to persuade the writers to allow him a shot at the song, “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”. Together Mickey Stevenson and William Weatherspoon supervised the recording, and the single duly appeared in June, backed by the Stevenson, Weatherspoon, Moy composition “Baby I’ve Got It”. The song quickly made an impact, rising to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and number six on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart. It was also popular in the UK, peaking at number eight on the UK Official Pop Singles Chart on first release and then reaching number four on its re-release eight years later. It is one of those iconic songs that never grow old. It still evokes a response over fifty years after it was recorded, when the long introduction gives way to the opening lyrics:
As I walk this land of broken dreams
I have visions of many things
But happiness is just an illusion
Filled with sadness and confusion
Ruffin was right. His vocal style did justice to the song. In addition, Paul Riser’s arrangement was perfect. The backing vocals from the Andantes and the Originals give the song a richness that highlighted the melancholy in Ruffin’s voice. The long introduction was intended to carry a spoken verse, but it was dropped for the final version. (The original recording with the spoken section has since been included on a couple of Motown compilations from 2003 and 2005). It may not have made number one, but in retrospect it is one of Motown’s best recordings ever.
On the strength of this success, Motown issued a second Ruffin single later in the year. “I’ve Passed This Way Before” was written and produced by Weatherspoon and Dean, with many similar qualities to its predecessor. It reached number seventeen on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and number ten on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart. The single also charted in Australia, Canada and the UK.
Success was a long time coming, but Ruffin had finally found a song that delivered it.
