One of the handful of Motown artists more famous in Britain than in his home country, Jimmy Ruffin – older brother of the Temptations’ David – signed for Motown in 1961, but after his début single flopped found recording opportunities limited, working full-time on the Ford assembly line and doing piecemeal club gig work until finally returning to the Motown fold in 1964 after the company took off.

Never a priority at Motown (where he burned bridges by disregarding the label’s strongly-worded “advice” on his career), he nonetheless scored a massive international hit in the mid-Sixties with What Becomes of the Brokenhearted. He followed up with a string of classy hits in the late Sixties and early Seventies, especially in Britain (where he became a regular presence on TV and in the Top Ten charts), eventually moving to the UK to be nearer to his loyal British fanbase.

Review Archive: Jimmy RUFFIN (6 items)

We have 6 reviews for Jimmy Ruffin currently available here on Motown Junkies – see our archive for more details, or click a link below: