Artist:The Main Ingredient
Song:Everybody Plays The Fool
Album:Spinning Around: The Singles 1967-1975
Of course most folks know about Oscar winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. But they may not know that Cuba Gooding Sr. was lead singer on Everybody Plays The Fool, the biggest hit by 70s soul group The Main Ingredient. The started out in 1964 as The Poets with lead singer Donald McPherson (born July 9, 1941 in Indianapolis), Luther Simmons Jr. (born Sept. 9, 1942 in New York City) and Tony Silvester (born Oct. 7, 1941 in Panama). They first recorded for Lieber & Stoller's Red Bird label and changed their name to The Insiders when they signed with RCA in 1966. Then they changed their name to The Main Ingredient. They didn't have much success until they got together with arranger producer Bert DeCoteaux and he added lush orchestral arrangements. The group started to have success on the R & B charts in 1970 when Donald McPherson died of leukemia on July 4, 1971 at age 29. After the shock wore off, Cuba Gooding (born Apr. 27, 1944 in New York City) was brought in to be the new lead singer. Everybody Plays The Fool was their first single and it reached #3 on the pop singles chart in 1972. They had another top ten hit in 1974 with Just Don't Want To Be Lonely. But Silvester and DeCoteaux left in 1975. Carl Tompkins replaced him but it didn't work and Gooding left to go solo in 1977. This comp from Kent Soul even includes recording as The Insiders so it's recommended. The Main Ingredient reformed occasionally especially when Aaron Neville had a hit with Everybody Plays The Fool in 1989. Cuba Gooding Sr. still performs and Tony Silvester died in 2006. Here's The Main Ingredient performing Everybody Plays The Fool on Soul Train 1972.
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