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
The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording conducted by "RPM", the record debuted at number 71 during the week of March 2, 1974. "The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording" peaked at number 23 on March 16 and spent another week at that same position on March 23. It spent its final week in Canada at number 72 for the week ending May 11, 1974, totaling nine weeks on the chart. The soundtrack also made an appearance on the Official Chart Company's UK Compilation Chart in March 2005, where it debuted and peaked at number four. The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording The Way We Were: