Cuba Gooding Sr

 Cuba Gooding Sr. (April 27, 1944 – April 20, 2017)

He was the most successful lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient, replacing former lead singer Donald McPherson who was diagnosed with leukemia in 1971. According to Billboard, as the lead vocalist he scored five top 10 hits, most notably, "Everybody Plays the Fool" (1972), peaking at No. 2 for three weeks, and peaking at No. 3 on Billboard′s all-genre Hot-100 list. "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" (1974), "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend" and "Rolling Down a Mountainside" were also top 10 hits on Billboard charts. He had a brief solo career on Motown Records during the late 1970s and early 1980s making two albums; the first was titled The 1st Cuba Gooding Album. In 1980, Gooding returned to The Main Ingredient and made two more albums for RCA Victor. 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. Gooding and his wife, singer Shirley Gooding (née Sullivan) had four children: actors Cuba Gooding Jr., Omar Gooding, April Gooding and musician Tommy Gooding.

On April 20, 2017, one week before his 73rd birthday, Gooding was found dead in his vehicle 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 natural causes. He is interred at the Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan, New York.