Motown great Jimmy Ruffin passed away Monday, November 17. He was 78. There has been no official cause of death yet listed, but he had been in ICU, perhaps with pneumonia, in a Las Vegas hospital since October.

Ruffin was born in Collinsville, Mississippi, in 1936, and got his start singing, along with his younger brother David, in local gospel group called the Dixie Nightingales. In 1961 he moved to Detroit and started as a session/solo singer for Motown. He had one killer single issued by Motown's Miracle label, "Don't Feel Sorry For Me" b/w "Heart," and then he was drafted. In 1964, after completing his national service, he returned to Motown and was tapped for a spot in the Temptations; a spot he lost out on after the boss changed his mind and chose his younger brother David, instead (tho' to hear Jimmy's version he gave the Temptations spot to his brother). As a solo singer, initially, Jimmy Ruffin did have a good run. I'd reckon he's best remembered for his Top 10 song, "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted." For my money tho', my fave Jimmy Ruffin side has got to be "Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got."

After his '60s Top 40 run the only real stateside chart action was via an album he recorded with brother David, I Am My Brother's Keeper. The album was kinda meant to restart both Ruffins' dragging careers, but beyond a couple of the LP's singles bubbling under, it came and went without reviving either brother's career. It's a bummer, as the LP is GREAT; just dig the strength of their single "When My Love Hands Come Down." GODDAMN!

Anyway, for the remainder of the '70s, Ruffin's records only charted in Europe; so in 1980, as his career in the US had evaporated, he moved to England. There his career rebounded a bit, he recorded a new album (produced by Robin Gibb ), Sunrise, and scored a UK Top 10 pop hit, "Hold On to My Love." Following Sunrise, in the mid-'80s, he recorded a couple tracks with Heaven 17, and then, in the '90s he became a radio host. He eventually relocated to Las Vegas, and, from what I can tell, he essentially retired from making music. However, after a 2010 reissue of the I Am My Brother's Keeper, he recorded an album's worth of new material which was set to be released on his 77th birthday, but it never materialized.