Luther Ingram remains best remembered for
the plaintive 1972 ballad (If Loving You
Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right.
Written by Homer Banks, Raymond Jackson and
Carl Hampton, the song sold over a million
copies, reached number one on Billboard
magazine's R&B chart, and peaked at number
three on the Hot 100 chart. It was later
recorded by Rod Stewart, Millie Jackson, and
Barbara Mandrell, among others.
Luther was also a gifted songwriter, teaming
with Mack Rice to co-write the Staple
Singers' classic empowerment anthem "Respect
Yourself."
Although Ingram last scored a hit on the
Profile label in the 1986 with Baby Don't
Go Too Far, his most prolific period was
1970 - 1978 for Koko Records, charting with
Let's Steal Away to the Hideaway,
I'll Be Your Shelter in Time of Storm,
I'm Trying to Sing a Message to You,Always, I'll Just Call You Honey,
Do You Love Somebody,
and others.
This LocoBop compilation entitled
Pity For The Lonely
contains ten great tracks from Luther’s Koko
period, recorded either at Stax, backed by
the Barkays or Isaac Hayes’s band, The
Movement, or in Muscle Shoals with the famed
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.
Standout tracks include My Honey and Me,
How
Sweet It Would Be, Ain’t That Loving You For
More Reasons Than One, and Be Good To Me.
