What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted by Jimmy Ruffin

Jimmy (brother of David) Ruffin recorded “What becomes of the broken hearted” in 1966 and it peaked at number 6 in the US. It had taken Jimmy the best part of 5 years after signing with Motown to have his first hit. However, he followed “What becomes” with a further two hits in 1967: “I’ve passed this way before” and “Gonna give her all the love I got”. Undoubtedly, his lack of success sprang from poor promotion on the part of Motown, he has since suggested that this was partly due to being so outspoken – ‘I wasn’t part of the clique’.

Jimmy was better received in the UK however, with hits including “I’ll Say Forever My Love” and “It’ Wonderful (To Be Loved By You)” and eventually split with Motown to reside permanently in England where he continued to have greater success.

Sample “What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted” on Motown 50 here:

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