Luther Ingram, “(If Loving You Is Wrong)…” | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 61^st edition of Throwback Vibez (2022), we recollect and reflect on “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right”  by Luther Ingram.   

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he vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome – we don’t discriminate ‘round here! In the 61^st edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2022), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right”, performed by 🎙 Luther Ingram.

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Theme & Lyrics ✍

“If loving you is wrong I don’t wanna be right / If being right means being without you / I’d rather live a wrong, doing life.” Honestly, I agree wholeheartedly with 🎙 Luther Ingram.  Love will make you do crazy things, including things you know aren’t right.  In the case of the soul classic, 🎵 “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right”, Ingram is damning himself to hell by Dante Alighieri’s standard, committing the sin of infidelity 😈. Well, if you’re going to be unfaithful, at least do it with a soul joint that damn-near topped the pop charts, right (no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100)?  

“Your friends tell you it’s no future

In loving a married man

If I can’t see you when I want to

I’ll see you when I can.”

Yeah, Luther was wrong, wrong, wrong.  That said, he perfectly captures how affairs work.  The guilty parties have to sneak around, which should signal how criminal what they’re doing is.  Ingram questions his behavior throughout “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right,” but finds it hard to give up his ‘side piece,’ despite “Knowing I got a wife and two little children / Depending on me too.” You dog! Besides the expressive lead vocals and scandalous yet pitch-perfect lyrics, the music is epic.  That signature guitar line, those horns – the ripe soulful aesthetic! A surefire vibe!

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Final Thoughts 💭 

It’s no secret that 🎵 “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right” is the biggest hit by the late, great 🎙 Luther Ingram.  Had he recorded no other hits, “I Don’t Want to Be Right” would be more than enough.  More than 50 years after its release, it remains fresh, relevant, and timeless.  One of soul music’s crown jewels.

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🎙 Luther Ingram • 💿 Absolutely the Best of Luther Ingram • 🏷 Airline • 🗓 2010

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Luther Ingram, “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 61 (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner, Gerhard G., JL G via Pixabay,  Karl Hörnfeldt via Unsplash,  The Musical Hype]

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