Cuba Gooding, Sr.
| Cuba Gooding Sr. | |
|---|---|
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Gooding at a performance in San Diego, California, September 25, 2008
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| Born |
April 27, 1944 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 20, 2017 (aged 72) Woodland Hills, California, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Shirley Sullivan |
| Children | 4 including Cuba Jr. and Omar |
| Parent(s) | Dudley MacDonald Gooding Addie Alston |
| Musical career | |
| Birth name | Cuba M. Gooding |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actor |
| Years active | 1964–2017 |
| Associated acts | The Main Ingredient, Stevie Wonder |
| Website | cuba-gooding |
Cuba Gooding Sr. (April 27, 1944 – April 20, 2017) was an American singer and actor. He was the lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient, most notable for its two biggest hits, "Everybody Plays the Fool" (1972) and "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" (1974).
He had a brief solo career on Motown Records during the late 1970s and early 1980s. 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. In the same year, samples from the song also featured prominently in Bizarre Inc's single "Playing With Knives".
Born in New York City, Gooding was a son of Dudley MacDonald Gooding 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. His father died when Cuba was 11 years old.
Gooding and his wife, singer Shirley Gooding (née Sullivan) had four children: actors Cuba Gooding Jr., Omar Gooding, April Gooding and musician Tommy Gooding. Gooding Sr. later became a minor actor himself. Gooding Sr. separated from his wife in 1974. In 1995, the Goodings remarried, some 21 years after having separated and divorced. In one of Cuba Gooding Jr.'s movies (Radio), there is a scene where "Radio" is listening to The Main Ingredient.
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