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R&B Singer Luther Ingram Dies at 69
ST. LOUIS - Luther Ingram, the R&B singer and songwriter best known for the hit
"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," has died. He was 69.
Ingram died Monday at a Belleville, IL, hospital of heart failure, friend and journalist Bernie Hayes said Tuesday.
He had suffered for years from diabetes, kidney disease and partial blindness, his wife, Jacqui Ingram, said.
Ingram performed with Ike Turner at clubs in East St. Louis, roomed with Jimi Hendrix in New York and was the opening
act for Isaac Hayes. He recorded through the 1980s and performed in concert until the mid-1990s, when his health
began declining.
"His instrument was his voice; his heart and head were his inspiration," said Hayes, a St. Louis journalist,
disc jockey and author of "The Death of Black Radio."
Ingram was born Nov. 30, 1937, in Jackson, Tenn. He started writing music and singing as a boy in a group with
his siblings after his family moved to Alton, Ill., in 1947.
He had a five-year association with Memphis, Tenn.-based Stax Records during the height of its success. In 1971,
Ingram and songwriter-performer Sir Mack Rice co-wrote "Respect Yourself" for the Staple Singers, which
turned into Stax's biggest hit.
Ingram recorded "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," in 1972 on Koko Records, which Stax
distributed. The song was No. 1 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart and was later a hit for Barbara Mandrell.
His other popular songs include "Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One),""I'll Be Your
Shelter" and "You Never Miss Your Water."
"He was a soft-spoken, quiet person that I think relished peace," said Deanie Parker, who spent her career
at Stax and Soulsville. "He was a very intense singer; he took it very seriously. When he was rehearsing,
he'd go over it and over it and seek perfection."
A "musical visitation" will be held Sunday, March 25, 2007, at St. Augustine Catholic Church in East
St. Louis. He is to be buried Monday at Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery in Belleville.
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SOUL GREAT INGRAM DEAD AT 69
Soul legend LUTHER INGRAM has lost his battle with a kidney disease at the age of 69.
The (IF LOVING YOU IS WRONG) I DON'T WANT TO BE RIGHT singer underwent a kidney transplant
several years ago, but has been dogged with illness ever since.
Born in Tennessee, Ingram became a mainstay for the Stax label after moving to back to Memphis
following a brief songwriting stint in New York, where he worked with producers JERRY LEIBER and MIKE STOLLER.
Ironically, his death comes as Stax bosses prepare to celebrate the classic soul label's
50th anniversary later this year (07). As a Stax/Koko artist, Ingram enjoyed a string of hits in the 1970s including
"AIN'T THAT LOVING YOU (FOR MORE REASONS THAN ONE)" and his biggest hit, (IF LOVING YOU IS WRONG) I DON'T
WANT TO BE RIGHT. He also co-wrote soul classic RESPECT YOURSELF for the STAPLE SINGERS.
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