The Main Ingredient
| Company type | Musical group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Predecessor | The Poets, The Insiders |
| Founded | 1964 in Harlem, New York City, United States |
| Headquarters | Harlem, New York City , United States |
| Products | Soul and R&B music |
The Main Ingredient was a prominent American soul and R&B ensemble, celebrated for their 1970s chart-topping success, notably the 1972 million-selling track "Everybody Plays the Fool".
Early history
Originating in Harlem, New York City in 1964 under the name the Poets, the founding trio consisted of lead vocalist Donald McPherson (1941–1971), Luther Simmons Jr. (1942–2016), and Tony Silvester (1941–2006), who was born in Panama. Their initial recordings were with Leiber & Stoller's Red Bird Records, followed by a contract with RCA Records where they performed as the Insiders. After releasing several singles, they rebranded themselves as The Main Ingredient in 1968.
Working alongside producer Bert DeCoteaux, they broke into the R&B Top 30 in 1970 with "You've Been My Inspiration". Their rendition of The Impressions' "I'm So Proud" climbed into the Top 20, while "Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)" secured a spot within the Top 10. In 1971, McPherson’s "Black Seeds Keep on Growing" gained recognition shortly before his premature death from leukemia at age 29.
Following this loss, Tony Silvester and Luther Simmons brought on Cuba Gooding Sr., who had previously contributed as a backing vocalist, as their new lead singer. This formation achieved significant commercial acclaim with "Everybody Plays the Fool", which sold over a million copies, reached number two on the R&B charts, and peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, earning gold certification in September 1972. Their album Bitter Sweet became their first to enter the Top 10 R&B albums. The subsequent 1973 release, Afrodisiac, included tracks co-written by Stevie Wonder but did not produce notable singles.
In 1974, "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" attained number eight on the R&B chart and number ten on the Hot 100, surpassing one million copies sold. This was their only entry on the UK charts, peaking at number twenty-seven. By 1975, they reached the R&B Top Ten again with "Rolling Down a Mountainside," co-written by Leon Ware. That year marked Tony Silvester’s departure to pursue solo projects with his album Magic Touch and to collaborate with DeCoteaux as a production duo, notably producing Ben E. King's Top 10 hit "Supernatural Thing."
In addition, during August 26–31, 1975, The Main Ingredient served as opening act for The Jackson 5 across six performances at Long Island’s Theatre at Westbury, stepping in for The Doobie Brothers, who had been initially booked.
Later years
Following Silvester’s exit, Carl Tompkins took his place, while Gooding pursued a solo path with two albums released under Motown starting in 1977; meanwhile, Simmons left the music business to embark on a career as a stockbroker. The three original members reunited in 1979 to release two albums: Ready for Love in 1980 and I Only Have Eyes for You in 1981, which featured the modest hit "Evening of Love". Another reunion occurred in 1986; however, their single "Do Me Right" under Zakia failed to achieve commercial success, leading Simmons back to his previous profession. Jerome Jackson replaced him for their 1989 Polydor album I Just Wanna Love You. After Aaron Neville’s successful Top Ten cover of "Everybody Plays the Fool", Gooding resumed his solo career with a third album released in 1993. In 1999, Silvester and Simmons revived The Main Ingredient alongside new lead vocalist Carlton Blount; this incarnation produced Pure Magic in 2001.
Tony Silvester passed away from multiple myeloma on November 26, 2006, at age 65; soon after, original member Luther Simmons retired and died on May 9, 2016, aged 74. Cuba Gooding Sr. was discovered deceased in his vehicle on April 20, 2017. Later group members included Jerome Jackson and Stanley Alston; Alston succumbed to ALS on August 13, 2020, aged 66.
Studio albums
| Release Year | Album Title | Highest Chart Positions | Label | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 |
US R&B/Hip-Hop |
CAN RPM | ||||||||||||
| 1970 | L.T.D. | 200 | 38 | — | RCA Records | |||||||||
| Tasteful Soul | 146 | 26 | — | |||||||||||
| 1971 | Black Seeds | 176 | 35 | — | ||||||||||
| 1972 | Bitter Sweet | 79 | 10 | 30 | ||||||||||
| 1973 | Afrodisiac | 132 | 16 | — | ||||||||||
| 1974 | Euphrates River | 52 | 8 | 48 | ||||||||||
| 1975 | Rolling Down a Mountainside | 90 | 3 | — | ||||||||||
| Shame on the World | 158 | 27 | — | |||||||||||
| 1977 | Music Maximus | 177 | 32 | — | ||||||||||
| 1980 | Ready for Love | — | 69 | — | ||||||||||
| 1981 | I Only Have Eyes for You | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1989 | I Just Wanna Love You | — | 59 | — | Polydor Records | |||||||||
| 2001 | Pure Magic | — | — | — | Magnatar | |||||||||
| "—" indicates the album did not chart or was not issued in that market. | ||||||||||||||
Compilation albums
| Release Year | Compilation Title | Peak Chart Positions | Label Name | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Overall |
US R&B | |||
| 1973 | Greatest Hits | 205 | 32 | RCA Records |
| 1976 | Super Hits | 201 | 46 | |
| 1990 | Golden Classics | — | — | Collectables Records |
| 1990 | All Time Greatest Hits | — | — | RCA Records |
| 1996 | A Quiet Storm | — | — | |
| 2005 | Everybody Plays the Fool: The Best of the Main Ingredient | — | — | Legacy Recordings/RCA |
| 2007 | Spinning Around: The Singles 1967–1975 | — | — | Kent |
| 2018 | 'Brotherly Love (The RCA Anthology)' | — | — | SoulMusic Records |
Singles
1976 Music MaximusInstant Love 1980 Ready for LoveThink PositiveMakes No Diff'rence to Me 1981 I Only Have Eyes for YouEvening of LoveI Only Have Eyes for You 1982 I Only Have Eyes for YouParty People 1986 I Just Wanna Love YouDo Me Right 1989 I Just Wanna Love YouI Just Wanna Love You 1990 I Just Wanna Love YouNothing's Too Good for My Baby 2001 Pure Magic Will You Marry Me align=left rowspan=2 Pure Magic| Year Released | Single Title | Highest Chart Rankings | Certifications Achieved | Associated Album | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 |
US R&B |
US Adult Contemporary |
AUS |
CAN |
UK |
- |
1965 | "I'm Stuck on You" Template:Ref label | — | — | — | — | — | — |
- |
1966 | "Chapel Bells Are Calling" Template:Ref label | — | — | — | — | — | — |
- |
rowspan=2 1967
|'align=left|"I'm Better Off Without You" Template:Ref label |'— |'— |'— |'— |'— |'— |' ' |
- |'align=left|"If You Had a Heart" Template:Ref label |'— |'— |'— |'— |'— |'— |' ' |
- |'rowspan=2 1969 |'align=left|"I Was Born to Lose You" |'— |'— |'— |'— |'— |'— |' 'L.T.D. |
- |'align=left|"Brotherly Love" |' ' |' ' |' ' |' ' |' ' |' ' |' ' |
- |'rowspan=4 1970 Tasteful Soul |
- |'align=left|"Can't Stand Your Love" |' ' |' ' |' ' |' ' |' ' |' ' |' ' |
- 'align=left|"You've Been My Inspiration" '64' '25' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' |
- 'align=left|"I'm Better Off Without You" (re-recorded version) '91' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' |
- 'rowspan=3 1971 Black Seeds |
- 'align=left|"I'm So Proud" 49 13 ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' |
- 'align=left|"Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)" 52 7 ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' |
- rowspan=3 1972 Bitter Sweet |
- 'align=left|"Everybody Plays the Fool" 3 2 25 44 6 54
|
- 'align=left|"You've Got to Take It (If You Want It)" 46 18 ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' |
- rowspan=2 1973 Afrodisiac |
- ’align=left|"You Can Call Me Rover" ’101’ ’34’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ |
- rowspan=3 1974 Euphrates River |
- ’align=left|"Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" ’10’ ’8’ ’42’ ’ ’ ’7’ ’27’
|
- ’align=left|"Happiness Is Just Around the Bend" ’35’ ’7’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’51’ ’ ’ |
- rowspan=3 1975 Rolling Down a Mountainside |
- ’align=left|"Rolling Down a Mountainside" ’92’ ’7’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ |
- ’align=left|"The Good Old Days" ’ ‘ ’45’ ’ ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ‘ |
- ’align=left|"Shame on the World" ‘ ‘ ‘20’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ |
’’Shame on the World’’ | ||
|
75 |
N/A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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15 |
I Just Wanna Love You | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
29 |
Pure Magic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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- Some singles were released under the name The Poets
- Others were credited to The Insiders
External links
- The Main Ingredient at Soul Tracks
- American soul musical ensembles
- African-American music groups
- Musical acts formed in 1964
- Musical acts disbanded in 2020
- Harlem-based musical groups
- Artists signed with Polydor Records
- Artists signed with RCA Records
- 1964 establishments in New York State
- 2020 disestablishments in New York State
- Musical groups disestablished in 2020