Voting Station

Jimmy Ruffin

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Vocalist

The Resume

    (May 7, 1936-November 17, 2014)
    Born in Collinsville, Mississippi
    Older brother of Temptations singer David Ruffin
    Recorded the singles 'What Becomes of the Brokenhearted' (1966), 'I've Passed This Way Before' (1967), 'Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got' (1967), 'Farewell Is a Lonely Sound' (1970), 'It's Wonderful (To Be Loved By You)' (1970), 'Hold On (To My Love)' (1980) and 'Turn To Me' (with Maxine Nightingale, 1982)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was asked to audition for the Temptations to replace departing singer Elbridge Bryant, but was passed over in favor of his younger brother. (Or, in other versions of the story, he turned down the audition but told the group his brother might be interested.)
    His signature song, 'What Becomes of the Brokenhearted' originally started with a spoken introduction by Ruffin, inspired by those on Lou Rawls' hits, but it was cut for sounding too corny.
    He was much more successful in England than his native US.
    He named two of his sons Jimmie.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His first stint at Motown was interrupted when he was drafted (1961).
    'What Becomes of the Brokenhearted' was a Top 10 hit on the pop and soul charts, and was a British top 10 hit twice, reaching #10 upon its original release and going to #4 during a 1974 re-release.
    He became so popular in Britain that he beat out Elvis as favorite American singer in a British poll (1970).
    His 1980 comeback hit 'Hold On (To My Love)' was co-written and produced by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 89 Votes: 49.44% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 7 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 193 Votes: 50.26% Annoying