Cuba Gooding Sr. - April 20, 2017 | Eastern North Carolina Now

Cuba Gooding Sr. - April 20, 2017

    Sometimes the best advice comes in the way of a simple lyric set to music. There was a time when straightforward simplicity passed as good music, but I guess it was always in the eye of the beholder.     It also depends on the age and circumstances of the listener whether a song or artist has any relevance to their life or aspirations. One thing that I think is almost universal is the fear of commitment. This is especially true if the listener has had his heart broken. It was not always country music that catered to the broken-hearted. Blues and early Rock and Roll also had its share of advice for the forlorn.

    When I heard the news that Cuba Gooding Sr. had passed, like most people, I did a double take. Wow, I thought he was a young man. Then I realized that the 'Sr' was the father of the actor who made "Show me the Money" famous.

    I am sure that somewhere in my memory bank I knew that the Senior was part of a singing group but it was not until the morning news played a snippet of the hit that made the singing group 'The Main Ingredient' popular in the early 1970s that I made the connection.

    The song "Everybody plays the Fool" remains good advice for almost any form of human endeavor. Without getting into a deep philosophical discussion it is fair to say that very few things in life are achieved without at least taking some kind of CHANCE. Maybe some things in life are worth just making that 'leap of faith because' in the final analysis, Everything in life is nothing more than a matter of Faith. Known facts have a tendency to change. Until the 3rd Century almost everyone knew the earth was flat. If you don't believe me just ask Eratosthenes.

    For that reason I print the lyrics to the hit that Cuba Gooding Sr sang in 1972. He was found dead in his car in Los Angeles. There was no evidence of fowl play. He was 72 years old.

Everybody Plays the Fool
Authors: J.R. Bailey, Rudy Clark and Ken Williams.
Performed by: The Main Ingredient

Okay, so you're heartbroken
You sit around mopin'
Crying, crying
You say you're even thinking about dying?
Well, before you do anything rash
Dig this

Everybody plays the fool sometime
There's no exception to the rule
Listen, baby
It may be factual, may be cruel
I ain't lying
Everybody plays the fool

Falling in love is such an easy thing to do
And there's no guarantee that the one you love
Is gonna love you

Oh, loving eyes, they cannot see
A certain person could never be
Love runs deeper than any ocean
It clouds your mind with emotion

Everybody plays the fool sometime
There's no exception to the rule
Listen, baby
It may be factual, may be cruel
I ain't lying
Everybody plays the fool

How can you help it when the music starts to play
And your ability to reason is swept away
Oh, heaven on earth is all you see
You're out of touch with reality
And now you cry, but when you do
Next time around someone cries for you

Everybody plays the fool sometime
They use your heart just like a tool
Listen baby, they never tell you so in school
I wanna say it again, everybody plays the fool

Listen to me, baby
Everybody plays the fool sometime
(There's no exception to the rule)
No exception to the rule
It may be factual, may be cruel sometimes
Everybody plays the fool

Listen, listen, baby
Everybody plays the fool