David Eli Ruffin, who was born on January 18, 1941, and died on June 1, 1991, was an American soul singer and musician best remembered for his work as one of the Temptations’ lead singers from 1964 to 1968, or the group’s “Classic Five” period.
His lead vocals may be heard on well-known songs like “My Girl” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.”
Ruffin, a tenor singer well-known for his distinct raspy and distressed vocals, was named one of the 100 greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008. For his work with the Temptations, he was honored in 1989 by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Marvin Gaye, a fellow Motown recording artist, once praised Ruffin by saying, “I heard [in his voice] a strength my own voice lacked.”
What was David Ruffin cause of death?
David Ruffin passed away on June 1, 1991, after an unintentional crack cocaine overdose, following a successful month-long tour of England with Kendricks and Edwards. Authorities claim that Ruffin passed out at a West Philadelphia drug home where he had gone with his friend Donald Brown.
Brown immediately drove Ruffin to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where, after almost an hour of attempts to revive him, he was pronounced dead at 3:55 a.m. that morning due to “an unfavorable reaction to drugs (cocaine)”.
