The Main Ingredient

The Main Ingredient is an American soul and R&B group, most popular during the 1970s. The group was founded in Harlem, New York in 1964.

Related Topics:
American - Soul - R&B - 1970s - Harlem, New York - 1964

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The original members of the group were lead singer Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons Jr., and Tony Silvester, who called their group "The Poets". After recording for a minor local label called, they changed their name to "The Insiders" and got a deal with RCA Records. By 1966, they had changed their name a third and final time, to "The Main Ingredient".

Related Topics:
Singer - RCA Records - 1966

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The group affiliated themselves with producer Bert DeCoteaux, who crafted their first US Top 30 hit, "You've Been My Inspiration". Follow-up hits such as "I'm So Proud" (a cover version of an Impressions song), "Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)", and "Black Seeds Keep on Growing" did even better on the charts.

Related Topics:
Cover version - Impressions

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McPherson passed away suddenly from leukemia in 1971, and The Main Ingredient recruited Cuba Gooding, Sr., the father of actors Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Omar Gooding, as its new lead singer. His first single with the group was 1972's "Everybody Plays the Fool", a gold selling single that hit the Top 5 on both the pop and R&B singles charts. Another gold single, "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely", hit the pop Top Ten in 1974, and the disco-based "Rolling Down a Mountainside" hit the R&B Top Ten in 1976.

Related Topics:
Leukemia - 1971 - Cuba Gooding, Sr. - Cuba Gooding, Jr. - Omar Gooding - 1972 - Gold selling - 1974 - Disco - 1976

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Later in 1976, Silverman quit the group for both a solo career and to start a production company with Bert DeCoteaux. He was replaced with Carl Tompkins, but the group disbanded a year later. Gooding garnered a solo deal with Motown, while Simmons became a stockbroker. The lineup of Gooding, Simmons, and Silverman reunited twice, once from 1979 to 1982, and again in 1986, but their releases were not as successful as the 1970s hits were. Simmons left the group again after 1986, and was replaced with Jerome Jackson.

Related Topics:
1976 - Motown - Stockbroker - 1979 - 1982 - 1986

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In the early-1990s, Gooding reassumed his solo career, and in 1999, Silverman and Simmons resurrected The Main Ingredient with Carlton Blount as the new lead singer.

Related Topics:
1990s - 1999

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