Cuba Gooding born 27 April 1944

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. 

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. 

The Main Ingredient produced the 1974 LP Euphrates River, which included their second million-seller, a cover of Ronnie Dyson's 1973 hit "I Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" (number eight R&B, number ten pop); the sumptuous disco classic "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend," which bopped to number seven R&B; and "California My Way." Tony Sylvester left the group to become a record producer and Carl Thompkins joined the group. Rolling Down a Mountainside was the title of their 1975 LP (number three R&B, spring 1975) and of the title track single that hit number seven R&B. The "Shame on the World" single peaked at number 20 R&B, while the Shame on the World LP made it to number 27 R&B in late 1975. 

                                   

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. 

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. 

In 1980, Gooding returned to The Main Ingredient and made two more albums for RCA Victor. In the summer of 1984 Cuba Gooding released a song called "I've Got The Hots (for you), which was a disco/funk song. His biggest international success was Brian Auger's "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend" in 1983, which has in recent times been sampled by several R&B artists, as well as hitting the charts again as a remix by UK Hardcore Rave group Altern-8 in 1991. He was also developing a film project called Everybody Plays the Fool: The Cuba Gooding Story. The film highlights three generations of the Gooding Family: Dudley "Cuba" Gooding, Cuba Gooding Sr., Cuba Gooding Jr. and Omar Gooding. 

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. 

On April 20, 2017, one week before his 73rd birthday, Gooding was found dead in his silver Jaguar while parked on a street in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. CPR was performed by the fire department but they were unable to revive him. 

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)