Tempted by Temptation: Ruffin's wife writes book

By By Larry Buford / special to The Star
Dec. 22, 2002
Remember the story of how the ruddy shepherd named David, slew the giant named Goliath?
The biblical King David, an unlikely candidate for the feat of slaying the giant Goliath, went on to become a great warrior and king a hero to his people while yet a failure to his children and family as his life began a downward spiral after his infamous encounter with Bathsheba.
As human nature goes, another David, in contemporary times, suffered a similar fate.
A new book, "A Memoir: David Ruffin My Temptation," authored by his former ("common-law") wife, Genna Sapia-Ruffin (1st Books Library, $22.95), weaves a riveting, heart-wrenching story of her life with the world-famous Temptations lead singer.
Here, for the first time, Sapia-Ruffin offers rare insight into the childhood and other significant periods of the legendary Motown singer whose lead vocals on such songs as "My Girl" and "I'm Losing You" infused hope in the black American culture during the critical civil rights movement of the 1960s.
His influence was far-reaching, even across the water to then-unknown Rod Stewart who was once, as told in the book, surprised onstage by David Ruffin as he performed one of Ruffin's "I'm Losing You."
While civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was moving the masses with his polished Southern drawl, Ruffin, born and raised in Mississippi, complemented him in his own way with brilliant recordings and mesmerizing stage performances.
The fearless "Sweet Muffin Ruffin," as dubbed by a popular disc jockey, was notorious with a microphone. Someone once proclaimed he had more soul in his baby finger than most had in their whole body.
But too, this "King David" as he became to his contemporaries at the top of his game also had a dark side.  
Details from the chapter, "Tales From The Parkside," after the street where the couple lived, is a stark contrast to the kind of sensitivity Ruffin sang about.
And just as the biblical King David's judgment was impaired after his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, the question is raised was the beginning of the singer's demise his dalliance with drugs, his controversial affair or both?
Sapia-Ruffin is candid about the personal things of weighted validity her man confided in her that she dared not write up until now for fear of her own life.
This is her story of all the trappings of living with an international star the deceit, affairs, jealousies, and insecurities that a young woman from Baltimore, educated by the streets of Detroit, suffered at the hands of the man she loved.
She survived to tell a story packed with emotion from an up-close-and-personal experience that others are either not "called," or are unwilling, to tell. This is a must-read for those who always wanted to know what was going on behind the music.
Personalized copies available online at eBay.com and at: GRuffProductions (http://gruffproductions.tripod.com). They also are available at www.barnesandnoble.com and www.amazon.com.
Larry Buford is a freelance writer.