(Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Cuba Gooding Sr., the lead singer for The Main Ingredient and father to Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr., has passed away at 72.
Gooding Sr. joined The Main Ingredient as their lead singer in 1971, and led them to five top 10 hits, including their biggest single, “Everybody Plays the Fool.” The group’s other hits during Gooding Sr.’s tenure included “Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely,” “Happiness Is Just Around the Bend,” and “Rolling Down a Mountainside.”
As a solo artist, Gooding Sr. hit the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart twice, with 1978’s “Mind Pleaser” and his version of The Main Ingredient’s “Happiness Is Just Around the Bend.” In 2012, Gooding Sr. charted again, this time on Adult Contemporary, with “This Christmas.”
Despite a successful music career, he was often better known as the father of Cuba Gooding Jr., particularly after his son won an Oscar for Jerry Maguire in 1997.
Scroll down to watch Gooding Sr. and The Main Ingredient perform “Everybody Plays the Fool” on Soul Train.
—RealClearLife
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