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  1. #1
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    David Ruffin Unsung

    Great show on in NYC area now, including David interview Id never seen.

  2. #2
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    What channel do these Unsung shows run on?

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    TV1 is the channel

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    It's hard to respond to nthe show. Most intense one yet. His son -who David terribly abused- has so much grace and dignity. I appreciate his talent but like the man much less.

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    Quote Originally Posted by luke View Post
    It's hard to respond to nthe show. Most intense one yet. His son -who David terribly abused- has so much grace and dignity. I appreciate his talent but like the man much less.
    Well put. I also was very impressed by his son.

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    All of the children appear to have adjusted well to the tragedy that unfortunately was Mr. Ruffin.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by luke View Post
    It's hard to respond to nthe show. Most intense one yet. His son -who David terribly abused- has so much grace and dignity. I appreciate his talent but like the man much less.
    Darn it! I missed it! I'm going to have to catch it on the rebound. This is the one I really want to see.

  8. #8
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    David Ruffin repeat unsung

    don't worry marv. you will be able to see it again at 1am and they will play all week long in nyc on channel 178 tvone. David had real talent but he had some real demons too, which tore at those who tried to love him, and he needed help, but his classic hits will always be cherished. i have many of his songs on my ipod esp.
    i wish it would rain, all i need, and my whole world ended.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by franjoy56 View Post
    don't worry marv. you will be able to see it again at 1am and they will play all week long in nyc on channel 178 tvone. David had real talent but he had some real demons too, which tore at those who tried to love him, and he needed help, but his classic hits will always be cherished. i have many of his songs on my ipod esp.
    i wish it would rain, all i need, and my whole world ended.
    Thank you so much Fran. Yes it's channel 178. I hope they did not portray a one sided David, because I know he had his good points as well. The songs? They are a given......classics! I heard "Walk Away From Love" on the radio the other day and BAM! I was right back in the Winter of '76 reliving some very good memories.

  10. #10
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    winter of 1976 was a good year for music, but unf Flo had passed, and it was a sad time for Otis and the remaining Supremes members esp. for Mary and i heard David was very fond of Ms. Ballard.
    you will see a small snipet of the supremes on this show i won't say what. enjoy.

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    Quote Originally Posted by franjoy56 View Post
    winter of 1976 was a good year for music, but unf Flo had passed, and it was a sad time for Otis and the remaining Supremes members esp. for Mary and i heard David was very fond of Ms. Ballard.
    you will see a small snipet of the supremes on this show i won't say what. enjoy.
    It was an incredible time for music. All of Detroit were sad about Florence.

  12. #12
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    I just watched it.................WOW!!!!!!!!!

  13. #13
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    they talked about David and his problems but the music as well and this came off better than I thought it would. Kudos to UNSUNG. I am impressed by his kids and how they have handled all of this and what they went through especially David JR. They all seem to remember him and what he did and didnt do.

    My favorite part was finding out how much Dennis, David and Eddie were offered overseas to perform I had no idea they were bigger than the Temps when they got back together and they offered to double their salary! Dennis looks like he lost weight and Otis even had good memories. When you see how David grew up and the fact that he admitted he had problems the show left you feeling sorry for him. One thing that came across is how talented he was and how he made his leads his own. Good job TV One.

  14. #14
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    I liked the show very much, too, but was surprised they didn't talk more about his relationship w/Tammi Terrell [[I only heard one brief mention/saw one photo - or did I miss more of it somehow?) Of course, they only have an hour...

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    It was a decent show. I was pleased that the kids had their say. David Jr is a talented performer in his own right. There was some great footage of the Tempts as well, I may have seen Lloyd Thaxton, it was a short clip of an old grainy b & w locally produced show. Dennis Edwards was a class act and Cornelius Grant was on point about The Temptations period. Did I see a kinder and gentler Otis....lol.....Shelly Berger steadfastly maintained that The Temptations collective was always more important than a single member.

    I'd love to see what they left on the cutting room floor.....

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by luke View Post
    It's hard to respond to nthe show. Most intense one yet. His son -who David terribly abused- has so much grace and dignity. I appreciate his talent but like the man much less.
    I ,also, was impressed with David Jr. [[all the kids actually. The daughter with glasses looked a lot like David) Even the ex-wives were not unkind to him. I did not know that David Jr was in the business. He did not use the show for self promotion. But after reading the comments above, I googled and found this:

  17. #17
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    I finally got to see the program in it's second showing and it was pretty good. I too am happy that they had his children involved. I was also happy to see clips of the interview of David. I always appreciate how Unsung always gives an overview of the artist's beginnings and David had a very tough one to be sure. For an hour long show, I think they did a good job.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    I finally got to see the program in it's second showing and it was pretty good. I too am happy that they had his children involved. I was also happy to see clips of the interview of David. I always appreciate how Unsung always gives an overview of the artist's beginnings and David had a very tough one to be sure. For an hour long show, I think they did a good job.
    Marv2, I agree!!!

  19. #19
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    I got an email from SoulTracks with a link to watching the show but it was only 36:36 in time. There were a lot of commercials but was it really that short?

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    I really enjoyed the program. I felt kinda sorry for his first wife but glad to see her daughters seem to be alright & have good memories of David, the same with his son.Did anyone read the book by Geena[[?)?She was the one he left for Tammi, right?

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    I just watched the Unsung: David Ruffin....I think that it was the most foward documentary tht we< as fans, are going to get!!!! Given wht I know now...I feel that the Temptations?Berry Gordy were justified in firing David Ruffin...My opinion was just changed after watching the documentary!!

  22. #22
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    Why did you change your mind? Ive often found it somewhat odd considering Ross being ok to get top billing and David with his charisma and talent not afforded that and fired. But then again Ross closer to Berry. I think also David taking off to be with gf was outrageous.

  23. #23
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    Oh.I never felt that David should get top billing in the Temptations because they were blessed with 3 lead singers and he was the one being unprofessional in missing gigs, being late ect.A lot of money was riding on the Temptations and promoters booking agents ect will sue & will win so he was exposing the group to lawsuit and more so because he was a known lead singer, unlike Florence who was not the lead singer of the Supremes.

  24. #24
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    I adored David Ruffin all along, since 1964, but his being a physically brutal, frequently unprofessional um, how should I put this, alcoholic junkie, didn't exactly qualify him for Diana Ross style top billing...Dennis Edwards would have been more suited for Dennis Edwards & The Temptations.. as many did, David had a rough life, to put it mildly, but a lot was riding on The Tempts,and he was not a good, long term bet....

  25. #25
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    Just in case anyone is interested, the show will be on again Friday at 10 AM EST.

  26. #26
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    Milven,

    I thought that was pretty classy of David Jr. also.

  27. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by luke View Post
    Why did you change your mind? Ive often found it somewhat odd considering Ross being ok to get top billing and David with his charisma and talent not afforded that and fired. But then again Ross closer to Berry. I think also David taking off to be with gf was outrageous.
    To be quiet honest...It was Corneiulus[[sp) Grant...He was there..He knows about the behind the scenes...From my understanding, he was pretty close to David. And given the incident with Dean Martin's daughter, "I" would have fired him to....In my opinion, David Ruffin, in his arrogant way< told everybody what he was going to do....And did it!!!!!

  28. #28
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    Great show, amazing what Unsung can get done in a 36-minute episode. Loved Ruff as an entertainer, but man the guy had a lot of demons.

  29. #29
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    This my opinion, and only my opinion....But after being fired from the Temptations and then filing a lawsuit against Motown..I think that Mr. Gordy took "one" last shot with David Ruffin. And when David, did not want to promote "My Whole world" I think that Motown cut their losses!!!

  30. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by dvus7 View Post
    This my opinion, and only my opinion....But after being fired from the Temptations and then filing a lawsuit against Motown..I think that Mr. Gordy took "one" last shot with David Ruffin. And when David, did not want to promote "My Whole world" I think that Motown cut their losses!!!
    But he had a major hit on Motown five years later with Walk Away From Love. So , they must have still been promoting his music.

  31. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by milven View Post
    But he had a major hit on Motown five years later with Walk Away From Love. So , they must have still been promoting his music.
    I call it an aberration!!!!!

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    I agree, disco records happened because of agressive nightclub djs and an equally aggressive record buying public [[for disco) that took the law into their own hands;
    this was also the case with the Pop Top 40 charting of The Supremes "I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking"; Motown was clearly not promoting the group at all by this point[[1975)

  33. #33

  34. #34
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    I feel they focused more on David's demons rather than his music. It would have been nice to see some of the producers speak about his albums after "My Whole" and/or the tracks from "Me & Rock n Roll". Where's the vintage footage?? It was good, just thought it could've been better.

  35. #35
    supremester Guest
    Well, clearly Motown WAS promotong The Supremes in 1975. Remember, it was Mary that kept them from being signed because she wanted to own the name. That ownership wasn't doing Scherrie & Cindy any good, but they had to sit on the sidelines and wait 2 years for the dust to settle. Motown put The Suprenmes on the cover of Billboard, serviced their singles to radio and 12" dance songs to clubs for several years of successful dance hits. Paired them with H-D-H, got them TV gigs and and almost a hit album with High energy. That didn't happen by accident. They quickly followed up with another HDH lp to cash in on the success of High Energy, but it tanked. It takes a LOT more than promotion to get a hit record. Motown was trying to make money off of The Supremes, it just wasn't happening for them much like The Tempts at the same time. Groups just get worn out.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jimi LaLumia View Post
    I agree, disco records happened because of agressive nightclub djs and an equally aggressive record buying public [[for disco) that took the law into their own hands;
    this was also the case with the Pop Top 40 charting of The Supremes "I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking"; Motown was clearly not promoting the group at all by this point[[1975)

  36. #36
    RossHolloway Guest
    I got a chance to finally see this episode of Unsung last night. What a talent, what a loss. It was great to hear from his children and ex-wives. The pictures of David and Tammi were somewhat haunting.

  37. #37
    I am really sorry for bringing this thread back, but since I do not live in the US I was not able to see it, so if anyone knows where I can find the episode, please share this piece of information with me.

    Thanks

  38. #38
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    Try looking in the SDF archives for the link in a thread posted on the day it was first shown. That's where we all would have gone to see it.

    It was on youtube at one point.

  39. #39
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    TopCat, I've never watched Unsung on a conventional television, I've always watched it online here:
    http://tvoneonline.com/shows/unsung/unsung-stars.html

    I don't have a lot of time to fuss with a tv guide and I can't plan my life around a television
    schedule. This way I can watch what I want WHEN I want, provided my internet connection"s
    working,that is....

  40. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by splanky View Post
    TopCat, I've never watched Unsung on a conventional television, I've always watched it online here:
    http://tvoneonline.com/shows/unsung/unsung-stars.html

    I don't have a lot of time to fuss with a tv guide and I can't plan my life around a television
    schedule. This way I can watch what I want WHEN I want, provided my internet connection"s
    working,that is....
    Thanks for the link splanky. Unfortunately, the full episode is not available on the website.

    @theboyfromxtown - I don't see any archives sub forum here. Am I doing something wrong?

  41. #41
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    If you got Time Warner on Demand, you can see David Ruffin's Unsung episode on the Entertainment on Demand site, just go to TV One and click on Unsung and you should be able to find it.

  42. #42
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    MrTopCat, just ask google !

    http://www.soultracks.com/unsung-david-ruffin

  43. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by phil View Post
    Thanks phil! I'd tried this link earlier, but it would not run the video when opened in Chrome. Tried it with a different browser [[Firefox), and it worked.

    Thanks a lot for the help guys.
    Last edited by MrTopCat; 10-07-2012 at 04:59 AM.

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    http://www.soultracks.com/unsung-david-ruffin

    I looked back in my outlook archives and found that link too.....that must have been the one we all used at the time.

    But hey, MrTopCat.....seems like you have it now.

  45. #45
    OK, first of all, sorry for the double post.


    Second of all - I just finished watching the episode and it really made me sad. David's my favorite Motown solo artist and I really wish he could be with us today. He had his demons, as we all do, but he did not deserve the ending that he got. I thought that the episode was really interesting, but was also severely lacking in terms of details. They could've dug deeper [[ and maybe they did, but did not show it ). There's a lot more to David than what was shown in this unsung episode. Hopefully, some day, somebody, will be brave and clever enough to make a real [[ full - length ) documentary about his life.

  46. #46
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    Here is an article about David Ruffin being released from the Temps. He was "fired" in June and the article is dated in July 68....so this is probably one of their first shows without David...http://news.google.com/newspapers?ni...&pg=754,159073

  47. #47
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    dvus7 - This tracks with what David told me at the time - that he was shocked and blindsided, told his services were no longer required the day of a gig.

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    Sorry for reviving old thread. I managed to find the full episode on facebook. I just finished watching it... man it made me cry

    https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheMu...9220416373062/

  49. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by alexstassi View Post
    Sorry for reviving old thread. I managed to find the full episode on facebook. I just finished watching it... man it made me cry

    https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheMu...9220416373062/
    No need to apologize. I have recently [[re)discovered why I love David's work. I pulled his "unreleased" album plus his two Motown Solo collections from Hip-Oselect forward in my playlists and I realized once again how great a vocalist he was. "Who I am" and his whole set of work from that time has again become my favorite. There simply is no voice like his. The Unsung piece does remind you how sad his story is.

  50. #50
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    As stated,david was as good as it will ever get when it comes to singing period,now let me say this...david knew exactly what he was doing,he gambled and lost,the sensible thing would've been for him to retire from the temps do a farewell tour and start his solo career,i think that things would've gone alot smoother for him and his career,melvin knew that david just wanted to use the group to further his own career and told him so..it's always sad when a brilliant career ends sadly-sam cooke-marvin gaye-dinah washington it's long list-but when you mix-alchohol- drugs with an oversized ego and it ends badly most of the time.

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