Davis Eli Ruffin was born on 18 January 1941, in Meridian, Mississippi USA, and was a musician and singer, best known to have been one of the lead singers of The Temptations during the “Classic Five” period. He was responsible for songs such as “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and “My Girl”. All of his efforts helped put his net worth to where it is today. He passed away in 1991.
How rich was David Ruffin? As of mid-2016, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $2 million, mostly earned through a successful career in the music industry. He’s part of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and is ranked as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine. All of these achievements ensured the position of his wealth.
David Ruffin Net Worth $2 million
Ruffin’s mother died just 10 months after his birth, and later on he along with his family would travel as a family gospel group. They opened for artists such as Mahalia Jackson and The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, but David also sang in choirs and in talent shows whenever he had an opportunity. At the age of 14, he left home to try and pursue a ministry, and then met jazz musician Phineas Newborn, Sr., and became part of The Dixie Nightingales and sang with The Soul Stirrers. During his travels, he would meet many of the big names in music at the time, including Elvis Presley and Little Richard. He eventually left gospel music to pursue more secular music.
He moved to Detroit and recorded two songs under the name “Little David Bush” – “You and I” and “Believe Me”. He then worked with Marvin Gaye and started creating music as part of the Voice Masters. He worked at Anna Records and recorded a few songs with members of The Originals. Despite having work as a solo artist here, he was unsuccessful, but eventually, he met an up-and-coming group called The Temptations, and started touring with them. He became an official member of the group in 1964. His net worth was beginning to grow.
He initially sang background, with the lead role given to Paul Williams or Eddie Kendricks. Eventually, he was noticed in the group and was given the opportunity to lead vocals, including on the record of the song “My Girl” in 1964, and it would become the group’s first number one single. They then they released other songs that became big hits, including “Since I Lost My Baby”, “I Wish it Would Rain”, and “Beauty is Only Skin Deep”. His success continued until 1967, when he was having problems with the group because of his addiction to cocaine. His ego was also inflating, and after missing a few performances, he was fired and replaced by Dennis Edwards. Despite being fired, he would suddenly appear on stage to steal some of the performances from the group.
With his personal issues, he asked to be a solo artist, and it led to his single “My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)” from the album “My Whole World Ended”. The song reached the top ten charts and it was followed by a second album called “Feelin’ Good”. During this time he recorded a few notable songs, including “Walk Away from Love” and “Statue of a Fool”, although some of his work during this time was shelved until a later date. Despite initially having a good run in his solo career, it then declined due to his continued addiction.
He left Motown to become a part of Warner Bros and released a few more albums. A Temptations reunion was attempted during 1982 but it was short lived due to Ruffin’s addiction. He would tour a few more times after that, one of which was alongside Hall & Oates.
For his personal life, it is known that Ruffin married Sandra Barnes in 1961 and they have three daughters but their marriage eventually ended. In 1976, he married Joy Hamilton and he also had a son with girlfriend Genna Sapia who lived with him until his death. David passed away in 1991 after a reaction to cocaine, though speculation was that there was foul play involved due to money missing from his person.
