LUTHER INGRAM

Luther Thomas Ingram was born in Jackson, Tennessee, on November 30, 1937. Ten years later, the Ingrams moved to Alton, Illnois. Luther’s earliest musical experience was his formation of a gospel group, the Alton Crusaders, which included his brothers Archie and Richard. They eventually switched over to doo-wop singing and changed their name to the Gardenias. In 1956, they recorded for Federal Records with Ike Turner accompanying.

Ingram’s first solo release came on the HIB label in 1965, but his first three singles failed to chart. His fortunes improved at the end of the ‘60s, when Ingram signed with KoKo Records, owned by his manager and producer, Johnny Baylor. Though KoKo was a small company, it enjoyed a close association with the Stax Records R&B powerhouse in Memphis.

From 1969-72, Ingram enjoyed a string of charted R&B singles, some of which crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100. He also co-wrote “Respect Yourself,” a 1971 smash for the Staple Singers. The summer of 1972 gave Ingram his greatest commercial success. An emotive cheating ballad, “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right” spent a month at #1 on the Billboard Soul Singles chart. It also reached #3 in the pop market and reportedly sold four million copies. Later versions of the song included Bobby “Blue” Bland, Isaac Hayes, Millie Jackson, Barbara Mandrell, David Ruffin, and Rod Stewart.

With his label’s connections at Stax, Ingram was able to record at the company’s Memphis studio. He also recorded at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama. One of his early singles, “If It’s All the Same to You Babe” / “Exus Trek,” became popular on the UK’s Northern Soul scene. Ingram recorded into the ‘80s, making the lower reaches of the R&B chart. He also was an opening act for Isaac Hayes and continued to perform until his health declined in the mid-1990s.

Luther Ingram spent years plagued with diabetes, kidney disease, and partial blindness. He died in Belleville, Illinois, of heart failure on March 19, 2007.

Charted singles:

“Pity for the Lonely” (1969) R&B #39
“My Honey and Me” (1969) R&B #19, Pop #55
“Ain’t That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One)” (1970) R&B #6, Pop #45
“To the Other Man” (1970) R&B #22, Pop #110
“Be Good to Me Baby” (1971) R&B #21, Pop #97
“I’ll Love You Until the End” (1971) R&B #39
“You Were Made for Me” (1972) R&B #18, Pop #93
“Missing You” (1972) R&B #26, Pop #108
“(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t to Be Right” (1972) R&B #1 (4 weeks), Pop #3
“I’ll Be Your Shelter (In Time of Storm)” (1972) R&B #9, Pop #40
“Always” (1973) R&B #11, Pop #64
“Love Ain’t Gonna Run Me Away” (1973) R&B #23
“Ain’t Good for Nothing” (1976) R&B #44
“Let’s Steal Away to the Hideaway” (1977) R&B #33
“I Like the Feeling” (1977) R&B #35
“Do You Love Somebody” (1978) R&B #13
“Get to Me” (1978) R&B #41
“Baby Don’t Go Too Far” (1986) R&B #29
“Don’t Turn Around” (1987) R&B #55
“Gotta Serve Somebody” (1987) R&B #89