What Becomes of the Brokenhearted of the most-revived of Motown's hits. Composers Weatherspoon and Riser and lyricist Dean had originally written "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" with the intention of having The Spinners, then an act on Motown's V.I.P. label, record the tune. Jimmy Ruffin, older brother of Temptations lead singer David Ruffin, persuaded Dean to let him record the song, as its anguished lyric about a man lost in the misery of heartbreak resonated with the singer. Ruffin's lead vocal on the recording is augmented by the instrumentation of Motown's in-house studio band, The Funk Brothers, and the joint backing vocals of Motown session
Brokenhearted (Brandy song) 100, becoming Brandy's third domestic top ten hit. The album version of "Brokenhearted" was recorded in a single take, Brandy remembered during the release of "The Best of Brandy" in 2005: "There's a funny story behind the recording of that song! I really wanted to go to Six Flags but the producers kept saying, ‘only after you finish recording!' I sang my heart out...I wanted to go to Six Flags so bad! You can hear the passion in my voice!" The idea for a duet version of the album originally came up while Brandy was on a two-month stint as