The Main Ingredient

In 1964, there was a trio of musicians who called themselves the Poets. The Harlem-based musicians involved were lead singer Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons, Jr., and Panama-born Tony Silvester.  They did a few recordings with a small label, and changed the name of their group to the Insiders and signed on with RCA Records.  In 1968, after doing a few singles, they changed their name again. This time their name was inspired by a Coca-Cola bottle. They called themselves Main Ingredient. The name stuck

The Main Ingredient Original Members

The trio teamed up with a new producer, who helped them break through the R&B charts in 1970 and 1971.  But in 1971, their lead singer, Donald McPherson, became ill with leukemia, and passed away suddenly.

The remaining pair teamed up with Cuba Gooding, Sr. He had done a few back up vocals for them previously, and had also filled in on tour while McPherson was too ill to travel.

Their first album as a new trio produced their biggest hit. ‘Everybody Plays The Fool’. It reached number two on the R&B charts, and number three on the pop charts. The album itself reached number ten on the R&B charts.  Their next album featured songs that were either written or co-written by Stevie Wonder, but it did not produce any huge successes on the singles charts.

1974 they found success again with "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely". 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, Tony Silvester was harboring other ambitions; he released a solo album called Magic Touch that year, and left the group

Silvester was replaced by Carl Tompkins, and Gooding departed for a solo career on Motown in 1977, which produced two albums; Simmons, meanwhile, left the music industry to work as a stockbroker. Gooding, Silvester and Simmons reunited as the Main Ingredient in 1979, and recorded 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 line-up recorded Pure Magic in 2001.

Tony Silvester died after a six-year struggle with multiple myeloma on November 27, 2006, at the age of 65, and original member Luther Simmons retired shortly thereafter. Cuba Gooding Sr. was found dead in his car on April 20, 2017. The current line-up of the group consists of Jerome Jackson, and Stanley Alston.

Just Don’t Want To Be Lonely




Rolling Down a Mountainside





Happiness Is Just Around the Bend




Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)




Everybody Plays the Fool




If you’d like, you can listen to these and more of their tunes with this playlist.