When David Ruffin Purposely Outperformed Diana Ross:

[Ollie9]

From what was written in Otis Williams' book, Diana thought the key was too low for her and complained to Berry and he ordered the track be redone in a higher key for her but it was not as comfortable for David. In the meantime, Diana devoted extra time to rehearsing her parts so she was in great form by showtime.

Unless one of us was actually there or Otis is lying those are the facts as we know them. As such, i really see no reason why this should not be open to discussion.
If some prefer David’s performance over Diana’s or vice versa it really is no big deal. The same for those who find both performances equally as good. It simply boils down to personal preference and should not be labelled as judgemental criticism by anyone.

[Boogiedown]

Unless one of us was actually there or Otis is lying those are the facts as we know them. As such, i really see no reason why this should not be open to discussion.
If some prefer David’s performance over Diana’s or vice versa it really is no big deal. The same for those who find both performances equally as good. It simply boils down to personal preference and should not be labelled as judgemental criticism by anyone.

I would add that [imo] Diana's actions were not intended to undermine David's performance, just rather it was done to most benefit hers. What angered David is that all this was initiated by her and then carried out through Berry Gordy without any consultation with him. He had zero input and was not even a consideration.

[Ollie9]

I would add that [imo] Diana's actions were not intended to undermine David's performance, just rather it was done to most benefit hers. What angered David is that all this was initiated by her and then carried out through Berry Gordy without any consultation with him. He had zero input and was not even a consideration.

That being the most likely scenario Boog, but one isn’t supposed to mention that lol.
It would have been interesting to see just where this thread might have gone had it been Mary making the demands. Hmmm.
As it stands, it remains an iconic and timeless performance from two of the worlds super groups.

[midnightman]

I would add that [imo] Diana's actions were not intended to undermine David's performance, just rather it was done to most benefit hers. What angered David is that all this was initiated by her and then carried out through Berry Gordy without any consultation with him. He had zero input and was not even a consideration.

Yeah that was the real issue. Some things were done behind folks' back to appease others. Communication was definitely needed in this scenario. By the way when you view the performance, it seemed like things went off without a hitch, as if there wasn't any issues since David sang it in stride cause he COULD sing that high so he stood up to the challenge. You have to understand they were all young and Diana and David were considered the STARS of their respective groups so of course their egos were probably large at this point but whatever happened BTS, they pulled it off even if Diana didn't necessarily like someone "upstaging" her.

[TheMotownManiac]

I don’t see things being done behind anybody’s back, I don’t see any reason to assume anything was done behind anyone’s back. I do see a photograph where David Ruffin, and diana ross are clearly having a conversation, it doesn’t appear unpleasant to me, maybe they are discussing the weather, or mink, lined, limousines, or, perhaps they are discussing, in fact, this medley.