(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right
Encyclopedia
" I Don't Want to Be Right" is a soul
song written by Stax Records
songwriters Homer Banks
, Carl Hampton and Raymond Jackson. It has been performed by many singers, most notably by Luther Ingram
, whose version topped the R&B chart for four weeks and rose to number three on the Billboard Hot 100
chart in 1972. In 1974 Millie Jackson
released her own version of the song which received two Grammy Award
nominations, and in 1978 Barbara Mandrell
's version topped the U.S. country singles charts and reached number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100.
love affair
, told from the point of view of either the mistress
or the cheating husband, depending on the performer. Regardless, both parties involved express their desire to maintain the affair while at the same time acknowledging that the relationship is morally wrong
.
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. 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 un-repentant Jackson discusses her status as the "other woman" and why she loves it.
and Veda Brown
, those recordings were never released. Other notable singers to cover
it include country singer Barbara Mandrell
, Isaac Hayes
, Rod Stewart
, Percy Sledge
, Bobby "Blue" Bland, David Ruffin
, Renée Geyer
, Ramsey Lewis
, reggae singer Alton Ellis
, Tom Jones
, Cassandra Wilson
and Rania Zeriri
.
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
song written by Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
songwriters Homer Banks
Homer Banks
Homer Banks was an African-American songwriter, singer and record producer, best known for his songs for Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s...
, Carl Hampton and Raymond Jackson. It has been performed by many singers, most notably by Luther Ingram
Luther Ingram
Luther Ingram was an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter.-Career:Born Luther Thomas Ingram in Jackson, Tennessee, his early interest in music led to him making his first record in 1965 at the age of 28. His first three recordings failed to chart but that changed when he signed for KoKo...
, whose version topped the R&B chart for four weeks and rose to number three on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in 1972. In 1974 Millie Jackson
Millie Jackson
Mildred "Millie" Jackson is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter and comedienne. Three of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies....
released her own version of the song which received two Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominations, and in 1978 Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...
's version topped the U.S. country singles charts and reached number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song
The song is about an adulterousAdultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
love affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
, told from the point of view of either the mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
or the cheating husband, depending on the performer. Regardless, both parties involved express their desire to maintain the affair while at the same time acknowledging that the relationship is morally wrong
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
.
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. 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
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
in which an un-repentant Jackson discusses her status as the "other woman" and why she loves it.
Notable performers
Although it was first recorded by The EmotionsThe Emotions
The Emotions are an American all female soul and R&B singing group. The group was formed in its current hometown of Chicago, Illinois originally consisting of the three Hutchinson sisters, all the children of Joseph and Lillian Hutchinson....
and Veda Brown
Veda Brown
Mildred Pulliam Whitehorn is an African American gospel and former R&B singer, who performed and recorded in the 1970s under the stage name Veda Brown...
, those recordings were never released. Other notable singers to cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
it include country singer Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...
, Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
, Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, Percy Sledge
Percy Sledge
Percy Sledge is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966.-Early career:...
, Bobby "Blue" Bland, David Ruffin
David Ruffin
Davis Eli "David" Ruffin was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 to 1968...
, Renée Geyer
Renée Geyer
Renée Rebecca Geyer is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with "It's a Man's Man's World", "Heading in the Right Direction" and "Stares and Whispers" in the 1970s and...
, Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...
, reggae singer Alton Ellis
Alton Ellis
Alton Nehemiah Ellis, OD, was a Jamaican musician best known as one of the innovators of rocksteady music and was often referred to as the "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.-Biography:Ellis was born in 1938 and...
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
and Rania Zeriri
Rania Zeriri
Rania Zeriri is a Dutch singer.- Personal life :Rania Zeriri grew up in the Netherlands as daughter of a Dutch mother and an Algerian father who left the family when she was still very young. After finishing school with a General Certificate of Secondary Education she moved at the age of 17 to...
.