(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right

"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right"
Single by Luther Ingram
from the album If Loving You Is Wrong I Don't Want to Be Right
B-side "Puttin' Game Down"
Released April 1972
Format 7"
Genre Soul
Length 3:32
Label KoKo Records
Songwriter(s) Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, Raymond Jackson
Producer(s) John Baylor
Luther Ingram singles chronology
"You Were Made For Me"
(1972)		 "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right"
(1972)		 "I'll Be Your Shelter (In Time of Storm)"
(1972)

"You Were Made For Me"
(1972)		 "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right"
(1972)		 "I'll Be Your Shelter (In Time of Storm)"
(1972)
"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right"
Song by Millie Jackson
from the album Caught Up
Released 1974
Genre Soul
Songwriter(s) Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, Raymond Jackson
Producer(s) Brad Shapiro
"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right"
Single by Barbara Mandrell
from the album Moods
B-side "I Feel the Hurt Coming On"
Released February 17, 1979
Genre Country
Length 3:05
Label ABC
Songwriter(s) Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, Raymond Jackson
Producer(s) Tom Collins
Barbara Mandrell singles chronology
"Sleeping Single in a Double Bed"
(1978)		 "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right"
(1979)		 "Fooled by a Feeling"
(1979)

"Sleeping Single in a Double Bed"
(1978)		 "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right"
(1979)		 "Fooled by a Feeling"
(1979)

"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" is a song written by Stax Records songwriters Homer Banks, Carl Hampton and Raymond Jackson. Originally written for The Emotions, it has been performed by many singers, most notably by Luther Ingram, whose original recorded version[1] topped the R&B chart for four weeks and rose to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1972.[2] Billboard ranked it as the No. 16 song for 1972.[3]

In 1972/73, The Faces recorded the song as an outtake for Ooh La La, their final studio album. In 1974, Millie Jackson released her version of the song which received two Grammy Award nominations,[4][5] and in 1978 Barbara Mandrell's version topped the U.S. country singles charts and reached number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rod Stewart re-recorded the song for Foot Loose & Fancy Free, his eighth album; released as a single it peaked at #23 in the UK singles chart in 1980.

The song

The song is about an adulterous love affair, told from the point of view of either the mistress or the cheating spouse, depending on the gender of the performer. Regardless, both parties involved express their desire to maintain the affair, while at the same time acknowledging that the relationship is wrong according to conventional moral standards.

Millie Jackson, however, took a somewhat different approach. On both studio and live recordings, her version is typically divided into three parts: "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," "The Rap," and "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right (Reprise)," which together have a running time of over 11 minutes.[6] The first and third parts include the song more or less as originally written, while the second part was written by Jackson herself. Titled "The Rap," the middle segment is a monologue in which an unrepentant Jackson discusses her status as the "other woman" and why she loves it.[7]

Notable performers

Although it was first recorded by The Emotions and Veda Brown, those recordings were never released. Other notable singers to cover it include country singer Jackie Burns (whose version made the Hot Country Songs chart in 1972),[8] Isaac Hayes, Millie Jackson, Rod Stewart, Percy Sledge, Bobby "Blue" Bland, David Ruffin, LeAnn Rimes, Renée Geyer, Ramsey Lewis, reggae singer Alton Ellis, Tom Jones, Cassandra Wilson, Nathan Cavaleri, Rania Zeriri and Johanne Desforges (French cover : Si je ne peux t'aimer a quoi bon exister).

Chart recordings

Luther Ingram

Chart (1972) Peak
Position
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 3
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[10] 1

Jackie Burns

Chart (1972) Peak
Position
US Billboard Hot 100[11] -
US Billboard Hot Country Singles[8] 71

Millie Jackson

Chart (1975) Peak
Position
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 42
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[13] 42

Barbara Mandrell

Chart (1979) Peak
Position
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 31
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[15] 1

Rhonda Clark

Chart (1992) Peak
Position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[16] 26

References

  1. ↑ "If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right)", SecondhandSongs.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 274.
  3. ↑ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972
  4. ↑ "Millie Jackson". MTV Artists. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Patrick Mondout. "Super 70s.com - Grammy Awards for 1974". Retrieved 2008-12-31.
  6. ↑ "Amazon.com: MILLIE JACKSON: Caught Up / Still Caught Up: Music". Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Catching Up with Soul Icon Millie Jackson". NPR.org. 19 May 2006. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  8. 1 2 Joel Whitburn, Top Country Singles 1944-1993, p.488
  9. ↑ "Luther Ingram – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Luther Ingram.
  10. ↑ "Luther Ingram – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Luther Ingram.
  11. ↑ Illegal name entered Jackie Burns/Jackie+Burns/chart?f=379 "Jackie Burns – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Jackie Burns.
  12. ↑ "Millie Jackson – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Millie Jackson.
  13. ↑ "Millie Jackson – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Millie Jackson.
  14. ↑ "Barbara Mandrell – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Barbara Mandrell.
  15. ↑ "Barbara Mandrell – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Barbara Mandrell.
  16. ↑ "Rhonda Clark – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Rhonda Clark.
Preceded by
"Outa-Space" by Billy Preston		 Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles number-one single
(Luther Ingram version)
July 8–29, 1972 		Succeeded by
"Where Is the Love" by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
Preceded by
"I Just Fall in Love Again"
by Anne Murray		 Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single
(Barbara Mandrell version)
April 14, 1979 		Succeeded by
"All I Ever Need Is You"
by Dottie West and Kenny Rogers
Preceded by
"Sweet Memories"
by Willie Nelson		 RPM Country Tracks number-one single
(Barbara Mandrell version)
April 28, 1979 		Succeeded by
"Where Do I Put Her Memory"
by Charley Pride
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