Never Change One Single Grain of Sand

David Ruffin: Common Man
From: Single (Motown, 1973)

David Ruffin: Let Somebody Love Me
From: David (Shelved in 1971) (Hip-O Select, 2004)

The Temptations (1998) (TV)
My favorite quote:
"Ain't nobody comin' to see you, Otis! You wish you could work it the way I do, but you can't! Because there is only one David Ruffin. And without him, the Temps ain't nothin' but a group in SEARCH of a David Ruffin."

According to Otis Williams, David (actual name Davis Eli; also known as David Bush) Ruffin, born in Whynot, Mississippi as the youngest of three sons born to Opheila and Eli Ruffin , (playfully nicknamed "Ruff" by the group) was initially a natural comedian and a hard-working singer when he first joined the group. Ruffin's most notable non-vocal contribution to the Temptations was the masterminding of their trademark four-headed microphone stand.
By 1967, however, ego problems with Ruffin became an issue for the Temptations. Ruffin became addicted to cocaine, and began regularly missing group meetings, rehearsals, and performances. Refusing to travel with the other Temptations, Ruffin and his then-girlfriend Tammi Terrell traveled in a custom limo (with the image of his trademark black rimmed glasses painted on the door, no less). After The Supremes had their name changed to Diana Ross & the Supremes in early 1967, Ruffin felt that he should become the focal point of the Temptations, just as Diana Ross was for her group, and began demanding that the group name be changed to "David Ruffin & the Temptations." This led to a number of fights between Ruffin and the group's de facto leader, Otis Williams, who insists that he gave Ruffin fair warning that if he did not change his attitude, he would be fired. What is also seldom mentioned is that, in addition to the group's problems with David's ego, he was one of the first Motown artists to question where the money was going, and so Ruffin was also demanding an accounting of the group's money. This also caused friction between Ruffin and Gordy.
David Ruffin died of a drug overdose on June 1, 1991 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the age of 50. Contrary to what Temptation Otis Williams claimed in his autobiography (later adapted into the Temptations television miniseries), Ruffin's body was not randomly found in the middle of the street, nor did it lie unclaimed in a morgue for over a week. Instead, Ruffin's chauffeur drove him to the hospital, identifying him as "David Ruffin of the Temptations". A few days later, Ruffin's children claimed his body.
Ruffin was portrayed by actor Leon Robinson in the 1998 television miniseries The Temptations. Leon won high praise for his portrayal of Ruffin, but Ruffin's family was upset by the way the miniseries portrayed Ruffin, and filed a lawsuit against the producers of the miniseries and also Otis Williams, whose memoirs had been the source material for the miniseries. The case was dismissed in favor of the defendants, with Williams later claiming that he had no control over the presentation of the material.
When Ruffin died in June of 1991, Michael Jackson partially covered some of his funeral expenses, at which Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder performed.

*Thank 2 Liter for the vid
*Other than Steve Arrington Ruff wears the illest textured afro
*David's Let Somebody Love Me was chosen to illustrate Ruff's uncommon man (exceptional) voice
*Lastly, I think Ruff could have placed second after Rick James for the "Habitual Line-Stepper" award