The group was formed in Harlem, New York City in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons, Jr., and Panama-born Tony Silvester. They made their first recordings for Leiber & Stoller's Red Bird label, but soon changed their name to the Insiders and signed with RCA Records. In 1968, after a couple of singles, they changed their name once again, this time permanently, to the Main Ingredient. The name came from a Coke bottle.
They then teamed up with record producer/arranger Bert DeCoteaux. Under his direction, the Main Ingredient reached the R&B Top 30 for the first time in 1970 with "You've Been My Inspiration". A cover of The Impressions' "I'm So Proud" broke the Top 20, and "Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)" went into the Top 10. In 1971, they scored again, with the McPherson-penned black-power anthem "Black Seeds Keep on Growing," but tragedy struck that year. Don McPherson, who had suddenly taken ill with leukemia, died unexpectedly. Stunned, Tony Silvester and Luther Simmons re-grouped with new lead singer Cuba Gooding, Sr., who had served as a backing vocalist on some of their previous recordings and had filled in on tour during McPherson's brief illness.
The Gooding era began auspiciously with the million-selling smash "Everybody Plays the Fool", which hit number two R&B and number three pop to become the group's biggest hit. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in September 1972. The accompanying album, Bitter Sweet, became their first to hit the Top 10 on the R&B album chart; its follow-up, 1973's Afrodisiac, featured several songs written or co-written by Stevie Wonder, although it did not produce any huge successes on the singles charts. They peaked at number eight on the R&B chart in 1974 with "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely", which sold over a million copies,and also reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. The track peaked at number twenty-seven in the UK Singles Chart in July 1974, although it was their only chart presence in the UK. 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 to form a production team with DeCoteaux. The two of them scored a Top 10 Pop and R&B smash with their production of Ben E. King's hit "Supernatural Thing" in 1975.
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.
Youve Been My Inspiration
The Main Ingredient Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
I'm so proud of you
You're only one fellow's girl
And I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
Believe me, I love you too
And it would hurt, hurt to know
If you ever were untrue
Sweeter than the taste of a cherry so sweet
And I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
I'm so proud of you
Compliments to you from all the people we meet
Yes, and I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
Believe me, I love you too
I'm so proud of being loved by you
I'm so proud of being loved by you
And it would hurt, hurt to know
If you ever were untrue
Sweeter than the taste of a cherry so sweet
And I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
I'm so proud of you
Compliments to you from all the people we meet
Yes, and I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
Believe me, I love you too
The Main Ingredient's "You've Been My Inspiration" is a sweet love song about the pride and adoration one feels for their significant other. The opening lines "Prettier than all the world / And I'm so proud / I'm so proud of you" express the singer's admiration for their partner's beauty and their unabashed pride in their relationship. Despite the fact that the woman is "only one fellow's girl," the singer remains proud and devoted to her, declaring "Believe me, I love you too."
The chorus of the song repeats the sentiment that the singer is "so proud of being loved by you," and reveals a vulnerability when they admit that it would "hurt to know / If you ever were untrue." The second verse continues the theme of sweet adoration, with comparisons to sweet cherries and compliments from everyone they meet.
Overall, the song is a simple but heartfelt ode to love and commitment. The lyrics maintain a consistent theme of pride and devotion, with a touch of vulnerability to keep the song from feeling too saccharine.
Line by Line Meaning
Prettier than all the world
You are the most beautiful person in my world.
And I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
I am extremely proud of you.
I'm so proud of you
You mean so much to me and I hold you in high esteem.
You're only one fellow's girl
You are in a committed relationship with me and I cherish that.
Believe me, I love you too
I also love you and I want to reassure you of that.
I'm so proud of being loved by you
I feel so lucky that you love me and it fills me with pride.
And it would hurt, hurt to know If you ever were untrue
The thought of you betraying me would cause me immense pain.
Sweeter than the taste of a cherry so sweet
Your sweetness and charm is so intoxicating, like the taste of a delicious cherry.
Compliments to you from all the people we meet
Everyone who meets you can't help but compliment you and I am proud to be with you.
Yes, and I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
As I said before, I am full of pride for you.
I'm so proud of being loved by you
I can't emphasize enough how much it means to me that you love me.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DONALD MC PHERSON, ENRIQUE ANTONIO SYLVESTER, LUTHER A. SIMMONS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Garnett Duke
What a beautiful song! Their voices are just phenomenal! I had never heard of them until now and I am so very sorry I missed them!
Ateeyah Lerreux
I love this jam. His voice is so sincere. So sad that he passes away so young. Sing on in Heaven
willcat
Their very FIRST HIT....Led by the late DON McPHERSON, (R.I.P.)and backed by LUTHER SIMMONS and TONY SYLVESTER (R.I.P)
What a lot of people don't know is that CUBA GOODING was ALSO an original member.
(See their story in the book "A TOUCH OF CLASSIC SOUL".)
So ...three original members of The MAIN INGREDIENT are now gone: Don McPherson, Tony Sylvester, , and Cuba Gooding.
Luther Simmons is the only one left....
Ujima Jame
Cuba sang backgrounds in the studio prior to Don McPherson passing but to call him an original member would be like calling the Andantes original members of The Four Tops, for they only accentuated their studio material and did not appear on stage with them or on their album covers!
cynthia shields
This was when there were actual musicians in the Studio!!
AMOURA LOVE
STILL LISTENING 2019,GOOD MUSIC
Huck Barry
Takes me back to childhood in the 70's
Michael Taylor
Absolutely surreal…🙏🏽
vgrandy95
Simply beautiful
vj60
i was 16. this was so much a great song.