Anna, 1127: I’m In Love / One Of These Days

David Ruffin was born in Whynot, Mississippi, and left home at age 14 to pursue a music career.  He briefly joined the Memphis gospel group, the Dixie Nightingales.  (I actually have a recording of The Dixie Nightingales around the period where Ruffin would have recorded with them, but unfortunatly it does not mention his name on the credits.)  After stumbling around the south, he made his way to Detroit where his older brother and future Motown recording artist Jimmy Ruffin was working at Ford Motor Company and trying to make it in the music industry himself.  David began singing with a group called the Voicemasters, which was produced by Lamont Dozier and featured group members who would later go on to form the Originals.  The songs, “I’m In Love” and “One of These Days”, were recorded in 1961 under David Ruffin’s name, since he sang the lead with the Voicemasters providing back up vocals.  The Anna label was run by Berry Gordy’s sister, Gwen Gordy Fuqua.

This 45 failed to sell very well, but in 1964 he was invited to join the Temptations, where he made a name for himself as one of the greatest soul singers in the world.  He began singing back up, but quickly moved to lead after the song My Girl was the first number one single for the Temptations.  Unfortunatly, David’s ego got the best of him as he put himself ahead of the band and even argued to change the band’s name to David Ruffin and the Temptations.  He began drinking and using cocaine heavily and was eventually fired in 1968.

Regardless, David Ruffin remains one of the all-time great voices in the history of soul music, right up there with the likes of Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding.

We were lucky enough recently to find two copies of this Anna single in a recent collection that had similar 45s of early soul and doo-wop, presumably from a late 50s/early 60s Detroit DJ.  We sold one copy and I kept the other, although I had to do much pleading and haggling with Justin to get him to agree to let me have it.  The A side is a great love ballad that shows off young Ruffin’s voice very nicely; the B side is an uptempo dancer. 

listen to a clip of “I’m In Love”: