THE MAIN INGREDIENT

[MadameDivaChocolate]

Early History

The group was formed in Harlem, NY in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons, Jr., and Panama-born Tony Silvester. They made their first recordings for Leiber & Stoller's Red Bird label, but soon changed their name to the Insiders and signed with RCA. After a couple of singles, they changed their name once again in 1966, this time permanently to the Main Ingredient.

Nothing much happened until the Main Ingredient hooked up with producer Bert DeCoteaux, who had an excellent sense of the lush, orchestrated direction soul music would take in the early '70s. Under his direction, the Main Ingredient reached the R&B Top 30 for the first time in 1970 with "You've Been My Inspiration." Things grew steadily from there; a cover of the Impressions' "I'm So Proud" broke the Top 20, and "Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)" went Top Ten. They scored again with the McPherson-penned black power anthem "Black Seeds Keep on Growing," but tragedy struck in 1971: McPherson, who had suddenly taken ill with leukemia, died unexpectedly. Stunned, Silvester and Simmons regrouped with new lead singer Cuba Gooding, Sr., who'd served as a backing vocalist on some of their previous recordings and had filled in on tour during McPherson's brief illness.

The Gooding era began auspiciously enough with the million-selling smash "Everybody Plays the Fool," which hit number two R&B and number three pop to become the group's biggest hit ever. The accompanying album, aptly titled Bitter Sweet, became their first to hit the Top Ten on the R&B charts; its follow-up, 1973's Afrodisiac, featured several songs written or co-written by Stevie Wonder, although it didn't produce any huge successes on the singles charts. They peaked at number eight on the R&B chart in 1974 with "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely," which sold over a million copies and also reached number ten on the pop chart, and the disco-flavored "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend," which did not. In 1975, the group recorded several songs co-written by Leon Ware, including the R&B Top Ten "Rolling Down a Mountainside." By this point, however, Silvester was harboring other ambitions; he released a solo album called Magic Touch that year, and left the group to form a production team with Bert DeCoteaux.


Later Years

Silvester was replaced by Carl Tompkins, but the chemistry wasn't the same, and Gooding departed for a solo career on Motown in 1977, which produced two albums; Simmons, meanwhile, left music to work as a stockbroker. Gooding, Silvester, and Simmons reunited as the Main Ingredient in 1979, and cut two more albums, 1980's Ready for Love and 1981's I Only Have Eyes for You (the latter featured a minor hit in "Evening of Love"). The trio reunited for a second time in 1986, but their Zakia single "Do Me Right" flopped, and Simmons returned to his day job. He was replaced by Jerome Jackson on the 1989 Polydor album I Just Wanna Love You. In the wake of Aaron Neville's Top Ten revival of "Everybody Plays the Fool," Gooding resumed his solo career and issued his third album in 1993. Silvester and Simmons re-formed the Main Ingredient in 1999 with new lead singer Carlton Blount; this lineup recorded Pure Magic in 2001. Gooding's son is, of course, Cuba Gooding, Jr., the actor best known for his Oscar-winning performance in Jerry Maguire.

Silvester died on November 27, 2006, at the age of 65.

Albums

* 1970: The Main Ingredient L.T.D. (RCA)
* 1971: Tasteful Soul (RCA) - US Pop #146, US R&B #26
* 1971: Black Seeds (RCA) - US US #176, US R&B #35
* 1972: Bitter Sweet (RCA) - US Pop #79, US R&B #10
* 1973: Afrodisiac (RCA) - US Pop #132, US R&B #16
* 1974: Euphrates River (RCA) - US Pop #52, US R&B #8
* 1975: Rolling Down a Mountainside (RCA) - US Pop #90, US R&B #3
* 1975: Shame on the World (RCA) - US Pop #158, US R&B #27
* 1977: Music Maximus (RCA) - US Pop #177
* 1980: Ready for Love (RCA) - US R&B #69
* 1981: I Only Have Eyes For You (RCA)
* 1989: I Just Wanna Love You (Polydor) - US R&B #59
* 2001: Pure Magic (Magnatar)

Compilation Albums

* 1974: Greatest Hits (RCA) - US R&B #32
* 1976: Super Hits (RCA) - US R&B #46
* 2005: Everybody Plays the Fool: The Best of the Main Ingredient (RCA)
* 2007: The Spinning Around: Singles 1967-1975 (Kent Soul)

Singles

* 1970: "You've Been My Inspiration" - US Pop #64, US R&B #25
* 1970: "I'm Better off Without You" - US Pop #91
* 1970: "I'm So Proud" - US Pop #49, US R&B #13
* 1971: "Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)" - US Pop #52, US R&B #7
* 1971: "Black Seeds Keep On Growing" - US Pop #97, US R&B #15
* 1972: "Everybody Plays the Fool" - US Pop #3, US R&B #2
* 1972: "You've Got to Take It (If You Want It)" - US US #46, US R&B #18
* 1973: "Girl Blue" - US R&B #51
* 1973: "You Can Call Me Rover" - US R&B #34
* 1974: "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" - US Pop #10, US R&B #8, UK #27
* 1974: "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend" - US Pop #35, US R&B #7
* 1974: "California My Way" - US Pop #75, US R&B #48
* 1975: "The Good Old Days" - US R&B #45
* 1975: "Rolling Down a Mountainside" - US Pop #92, US R&B #7, US Dance #7
* 1976: "Instant Love" - US R&B #96
* 1976: "Shame on the World" - US R&B #20
* 1986: "Do Me Right" - US R&B #75
* 1989: "I Just Wanna Love" - US R&B #15
* 1990: "Nothing's Too Good for My Baby" - US R&B #29

The Main Ingredient was viewed as purveyors of the sweet soul sound of the early 1970s but they were a bit more diverse than that label suggests. The trio was able to shift from strident black pride anthems ("Black Seeds Keep On Growing") to serious love songs ("Just Don't Want To Be Lonely") with ease. The first edition of the group was comprised of Donald MacPherson, Tony Sylvester and Luther Simmons and they had been making records since the mid 1960s before latching on to RCA and the guidance of Bert DeCoteaux, who wrapped their harmonies around his warm production. There they scored with their version of the Impressions' "I'm So Proud" and "Spinning Around."

MacPherson died unexpectedly of leukemia in 1971 and Cuba Gooding stepped in as his replacement. Gooding's voice carried with it an edge of desperation that MacPherson lacked, and under his vocal leadership, the Ingredient had their greatest success with "Everybody Plays the Fool," "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend," and "Rolling Down A Mountainside," all soul classics and remade by Isaac Hayes, Aaron Neville and Gooding himself.

Their touch on tearjerkers "Lonely" and "You've Been My Inspiration" earned them a reputation as balladeers and was the basis of their popularity with mature soul fans. Top flight writers like Stevie Wonder and Leon Ware were often called on to compose their material, ensuring that the hits kept coming. Gooding left for a brief solo career on Motown before rejoining in 1980. 1981's "Evening of Love" paired them with Patrick Adams and was their comeback and final hit. They continued to record through the 1980s but didn't have any major moments to rival their earlier popularity. Gooding had a dance hit with "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend" in 1983 on Streetwise.

Main Ingredient's Deepest Grooves

Main Ingredient (RCA, 1970)

Tasteful Soul (RCA, 1971)

Black Seeds (RCA, 1971)
The title song is an underrecognized slab of black power soul, something that MacPherson contributed to the group and wouldn't quite be replaced by Cuba Gooding.

Bittersweet (RCA, 1972)
Here Cuba Gooding makes his debut and makes an immediate splash with "Everybody Plays the Fool."

Afrodisiac (RCA, 1973)
With the minor breakbeat cut "You Can Call Me Rover" plus a bunch of songs written and possibly produced by Stevie Wonder ("Superwoman," "Something Lovely").

Rolling Down A Mountainside (RCA, 1975)
Loads of Leon Ware-written tunes, which means that while this may not have been their most popular album on the charts, it is one of the best.

Tony Silvester - Magic Touch (Mercury, 1975)
The relatively unknown Silvester somehow persuaded Mercury to release his solo album, which is suprisingly solid. The title song is an early disco cult favorite, and elsewhere Patrick Adams provides arrangements and, I suspect, uncredited production.

I Only Have Eyes For You (RCA, 1981)
The comeback album with "Evening Of Love" was their last moment in the sun before falling out of favor with the changing taste of soul audiences.

Golden Classics (Collectables, 1989)

Greatest Hits (RCA, 1990)
The best of the many compilations on the Main Ingredient, including the highlights of both the Simmons and Gooding material.

A Quiet Storm (RCA, 1996)

Pure Magic (Magnatar, 2001)

Copyright ©2001 B.Graff. All rights reserved.

[Edie Antoinette]

I had forgotten about California My Way..very nice..I have that Euphrates River album, my favorite being:

The Main Ingredient-Happiness Is Just Around The Bend

Great Post!

[Edie Antoinette]

Very nice!