Luther Thomas Ingram (November 30, 1937 – March 19, 2007) was an American R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

singer-songwriter. His most successful record, "

(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" is a song written by Stax Records songwriters Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, and Raymond Jackson. Originally written for The Emotions, it has been performed by many singers, most notably by L ...

", reached No. 1 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 1972.

Life and career

Luther Thomas Ingram was born in Jackson,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

on November 30, 1937. His family moved to

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend area in the Metro-East region of the ...

in 1947. Ingram's early interest in music led to formation of a gospel group, the Alton Crusaders, which included his brothers Archie and Richard. They eventually began singing

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

, and accompanied by

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues o ...

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

, they recorded as the Gardenias for

Federal Records Federal Records was an American record label founded in 1950 as a subsidiary of Syd Nathan's King Records and based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was run by famed record producer Ralph Bass and was mainly devoted to Rhythm & Blues releases. The co ...

in 1956. In 1965, Ingram recorded his first solo record. His first three recordings failed to chart but that changed when he signed for KoKo Records in the late 1960s, and his first hit "My Honey And Me" peaked at #55 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 14 February 1970. Many of his

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

s appeared in the

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and R&B

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ta ...

, even though Koko was only a small

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed d ...

, owned by his

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, Johnny Baylor. Koko and Baylor were closely associated with the Memphis based

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

label during the height of its commercial success. Ingram is best known for the hit, "

", written by Homer Banks, Carl Hampton and Raymond Jackson. The song reached number one on ''

''s

and peaked at number three on that publication's Hot 100 chart in the summer of 1972. The track stayed in the Hot 100 for 18 weeks, ultimately selling a reported four million copies. The song was later successfully

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

Millie Jackson Mildred Virginia Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American R&B and soul recording artist. Beginning her career in the early 1960s, three of Jackson's albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies sold. Jackson's songs o ...

David Ruffin David Eli Ruffin (born Davis Eli Ruffin;Ribowsky, p. 88 January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations (1964–68) during the group's "Cla ...

, and

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artist ...

; it has also been recorded by

Bobby "Blue" Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was des ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

and

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songw ...

. Other popular tracks for Ingram included "Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One)", "Let's Steal Away to the Hideaway" and "I'll Be Your Shelter (In Time of Storm)". He also co-authored " Respect Yourself", a million seller for the

Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (April 11, 1934 – February 21, ...

, on the Stax label, in 1971. The acetate demo version of Ingram's, "Exus Trek" (an instrumental backing-track released 1966 as the B-side of HIB Records #698), became a sought after Northern soul track. With the Stax connections, Ingram recorded at the Memphis label's studios, as well as other southern-based studios such as Muscle Shoals. Ingram was opening act for

for some years, and often used Hayes' Movement band and female backing group for his 1970s recordings. He recorded into the 1980s, and whilst only managing lower R&B chart hits. He performed in concert until his health began declining in the mid-1990s.

Death

Ingram died on March 19, 2007, at a

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city and the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The ...

, hospital of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

. According to his wife Jacqui Ingram, he had suffered for years from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

kidney disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Inflammation can ...

and partial

blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

. His funeral was at St. Augustine of Hippo Catholic Church in East St. Louis, Illinois and buried at Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery in Belleville.

Discography

Albums

* 1972: ''I've Been Here All The Time'' (KoKo) * 1972: ''(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right'' (KoKo) * 1976: ''Let's Steal Away To The Hideaway'' (KoKo) * 1977: ''Do You Love Somebody'' (KoKo) * 1986: ''Luther Ingram'' ( Profile)

Charted singles

References

External links

Official websiteLuther Ingram
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Obituary, ''The Independent'', 7 April 2007

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingram, Luther 1937 births 2007 deaths People from Jackson, Tennessee People from Alton, Illinois Songwriters from Illinois American pop musicians Songwriters from Tennessee American soul musicians Singers from Tennessee Smash Records artists American rhythm and blues singers American soul singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers African-American Catholics 20th-century African-American male singers American male songwriters