Bruce Ruffin was a member of the Techniques, one of the more successful rocksteady vocal groups of the late '60s. His greatest success, though, came in the 1970s as a reggae-pop solo artist and writer. Ruffin got his start singing with Byron Lee & the Dragonaires briefly before joining the Techniques in 1967. He was one of several talented singers to drift through the Techniques' ranks, but his stay with the group was highlighted by several rocksteady hits that he wrote, the most notable of which was "Love Is Not a Gamble." Restless, Ruffin left the Techniques a year later, returning in 1969 as a solo artist with the upbeat reggae of "Long About Now."