Cuba Gooding (April 27, 1944 – April 20, 2017) was an American singer. He was the most successful lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient and also recorded as a solo artist with hits of his own.
Born in Harlem, New York City, Cuba Mark Gooding was a son of Dudley MacDonald Gooding (1890–1955) and his wife Addie Alston. The elder Gooding was a native of Barbados who fled the island in 1936 to Cuba, and met and married a woman there. When she was murdered because of their affiliation with Pan Africanist leader Marcus Garvey, Dudley Gooding promised his wife on her deathbed that he would name his first son Cuba. He became a taxi driver in Manhattan, but he died when Cuba was 11 years old.
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| The Main Ingredient 1974. L-R: Luther Simmons, Cuba Gooding, Tony Silvester |
Cuba Gooding began his recording career as the lead singer of The Charades in the mid 1960s. He joined The Main Ingredient as a back-up vocalist. He became the lead singer after lead singer Donald McPherson died of leukemia in 1971. With Cuba Gooding on lead vocals, the Main Ingredient had their first million-selling single with "Everybody Plays the Fool," which hit number three pop and held the number two R&B spot for two weeks on Billboard's charts in fall 1972. The follow-up, "You've Got to Take It (If You Want It)," was included on the album Bitter Sweet, which hit number ten R&B in summer 1972. Their next LP, Afrodisiac, peaked at number 16 R&B in spring 1973.
In 1977, Gooding signed as a solo artist with Motown Records. Amid much anticipation and critical raves, his solo debut, The 1st Album, produced by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter (Tavares, the Four Tops), was released in spring 1978 with only one single, "Mind Pleaser," charting number 91 R&B in spring 1978. Another Motown LP, Love Dancer, produced by Michael Lovesmith, was issued in spring 1979.
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| Shirley & Cuba Gooding |
Gooding moved from the Bronx to southern California in the 1970s. Gooding and his wife, singer Shirley Gooding (née Sullivan) had four children: actors Cuba Gooding Jr., Omar Gooding, actress April Gooding and musician Tommy Gooding. Gooding Sr. later became a minor actor himself. He separated from his wife in 1974 but in 1995, they remarried.
Gooding appeared on the Beach Music Super Collaboration CD, performing the Charles Wallert composition, "Meant To Be In Love". This led to the duo's project, “Never Give Up” (Bluewater Recordings), which debuted at the 2009 presidential inauguration. In 2011, he had a residence in Rosarito Beach, Mexico where he performed at least one charity concert. He also had a residence in Flagler Beach, Florida.
An autopsy determined he died of Hypertensive and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease, which is defined as a hardening and narrowing of the arteries, often leading to heart attack and/or stroke. He is interred at the Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan.
(Edited from Wikipedia, AllMusic &IMDb)