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Posts tagged as “David Ruffin”

MUSIC MONDAY: Celebrating “Summer of Soul” and Questlove’s Best Documentary Oscar Win (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: Celebrating “Summer of Soul” and Questlove’s Best Documentary Oscar Win (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 28, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

There was a great moment that happened at last night’s Academy Awards, but because it happened directly after a shocking moment, it’s not getting the all the flowers and love it should.

So for this #MusicMonday, we are fully celebrating the fact that Summer of Soul, the feature documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival directed by The Roots co-founder and musical impresario Questlove, won a much-deserved Oscar. And if you (like so many of us) missed his acceptance speech, here it is:

https://youtu.be/IPbOF4wpEVw

Still streaming on Hulu and available on DVD, Summer of Soul is an education and gift to the eyes and ears and if you don’t currently have access to Summer of Soul, the movie, listening to the music from the acts featured in the film is the next best thing:

I’ve included the playlist of the official soundtrack album along with an extended playlist.

From Sly and the Family Stone to the Fifth Dimension, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, The Staples Singers, Mongo Santamaria, David Ruffin, Mahalia Jackson, Mavis Staples and others, the music on display and the stories behind the event are close to (if not completely) mind-blowing.

And if you need another push to check it out (or revisit it), here’s the trailer of the documentary:

Thank you, again, Questlove and all the artists involved that helped bring the “Summer of Soul” into our lives for all seasons.  You all truly made — and resurrected — important cultural history.

Enjoy!

Born On This Day 74 Years Ago: Temptations Lead Singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer David Ruffin

By goodblacknews on January 18, 2015

David_Ruffin_-_Feelin'_GoodDavis Eli “David” Ruffin (January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of The Temptations (1964–68) during the group’s “Classic Five” period, and was the lead don such famous songs as “My Girl“, “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg, and “I Wish It Would Rain.”  Ruffin would have been 74 today.
Known for his unique raspy and anguished tenor vocals, according to Wikipedia.com, Ruffin was ranked as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008.  He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 for his work with The Temptations, and into Cleveland’s R&B Hall of Fame in 2013 as a solo artist as well a Temptations member.  Fellow Motown recording artist Marvin Gaye once said admiringly of Ruffin that, “I heard [in his voice] a strength my own voice lacked.”
To see video of Ruffin in action on one of the Temptations classics, click below and enjoy:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tYPJ74TKbI&w=420&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
 

R.I.P. "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" Singer and Motown Veteran Jimmy Ruffin

By goodblacknews on November 19, 2014

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NEW YORK — Jimmy Ruffin, the Motown singer whose hits include What Becomes of the Brokenhearted and Hold on to My Love, died Monday in a Las Vegas hospital. He was 78.
Philicia Ruffin and Jimmy Lee Ruffin Jr., the late singer’s children, confirmed Wednesday that Ruffin had died. There were no details about the cause of death.
Ruffin was the older brother of Temptations lead singer David Ruffin, who died in 1991 at age 50.
Jimmy Lee Ruffin was born on May 7, 1936, in Collinsville, Miss. He was signed to Berry Gordy‘s Motown Records and had a string of hits in the 1960s, including What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, which was a Top 10 pop hit. He had his second Top 10 hit, Hold on to My Love, in 1980.

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