• The history behind Luther Ingram’s “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right”

Did y’all know that this song was first intended for and recorded by The Emotions? Their version has never been released. Well, there was a plot twist because in 1972, three Stax Records songwriter, Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, and Raymond Jackson, gave Luther Ingram their song “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right” for use on the Koko label where Ingram was signed and Stax marketed.

As it turned out, the track was career-defining for Ingram. The track spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard R&B chart and rose to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972.

In this article

Luther Ingram If Loving You Is Wrong I Dont Want to Be Right Cover

(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right

Luther Ingram

Album: (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right

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But more of what I wanna discuss is about Luther Ingram being a great soul vocalist. He had a gift. Truly great soul vocalists can personalize every song to make us feel like they lived it. He sold this song like he wrote it and actually lived the story in the song. Hey, maybe he knew someone who did. Maybe he lived this story! I have no clue, but what I do know is that he stepped into the song like a familiar, favorite pair of shoes, taking ownership as if it had been written by him. Am I right?

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