Everybody Plays the Fool

"Everybody Plays the Fool"
Single by The Main Ingredient
from the album Bitter Sweet
A-side "Everybody Plays the Fool"
B-side "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me?)"
Released August 1972
Format 7"
Recorded 1972
Genre Soul, R&B
Length 3:22
Label RCA Records
Writer(s) J.R. Bailey, Rudy Clark, Ken Williams
Producer(s) Luther Simmons, Tony Silvester
Certification Gold

"Everybody Plays the Fool" is the title of a popular song written by J.R. Bailey, Rudy Clark and Ken Williams. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best R&B Song at the 1973 ceremony.

The first recording of the song to reach the Top 40 in the United States was by the R&B group The Main Ingredient, a trio consisting at the time of Cuba Gooding, Sr., Tony Silvester and Luther Simmons, Jr. Their version of "Everybody Plays the Fool" rose to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the fall of 1972, and was certified gold by the RIAA.[1] This version also peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart and at No. 25 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.[2] It was the group's highest charting hit single.

"Everybody Plays the Fool"
Single by Aaron Neville
from the album Warm Your Heart
Released August 15, 1991
Format Soul
Length 4:25
Label A&M Records

Singer Aaron Neville recorded a cover version of "Everybody Plays the Fool" in 1991 which also hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching No. 8 in the fall of that year.[1] This was Neville's third Top 10 hit on the pop chart, following "Tell It Like It Is" (1967, No. 2) and his duet with Linda Ronstadt, "Don't Know Much" (1989, No. 2). Neville's single also went to No. 1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.[2] In addition, it was a No. 1 single in New Zealand.

The electronic dance music artist Bassix also recorded a version of "Everybody Plays the Fool" during the late 1980s.

The track was featured in an episode of Everybody Hates Chris entitled "Everybody Hates Badboys".

The song was also played during an episode of Supernatural, episode 10 of season 5, "Abandon All Hope".

Charts

End of year chart (1991) Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3] 87

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
  3. "Billboard Top 100 - 1991". Retrieved 2009-09-15.

External links

Preceded by
"Time, Love and Tenderness" by Michael Bolton
Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single
October 12, 1991
Succeeded by
"Too Many Walls" by Cathy Dennis