By AP/KWMU
Belleville, Ill. – Rhythm and blues singer Luther Ingram will be buried today (Monday) in Belleville.
Ingram is best known for his hit, "If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right)." There was a visitation Sunday in East St. Louis for Ingram, who died last week at the age of 69.
Ingram once roomed with Jimi Hendrix when both were recording in New York. He also performed with Ike Turner at clubs in East St. Louis and was the opening act for Isaac Hayes.
Ingram had He had suffered for years from diabetes, kidney disease and partial blindness, his wife, Jacqui Ingram, said.
He recorded through the 1980s and performed in concert until the mid-1990s, when his health began declining.
"His instrument was his voice; his heart and head were his inspiration," said Bernie Hayes, a St. Louis journalist, disc jockey and author of "The Death of Black Radio."
Ingram was born Nov. 30, 1937, in Jackson, Tenn. He started writing music and singing as a boy in a group with his siblings after his family moved to Alton, Ill., in 1947.
He had a five-year association with Memphis, Tenn.-based Stax Records during the height of its success. In 1971, Ingram and songwriter-performer Sir Mack Rice co-wrote "Respect Yourself" for the Staple Singers, which turned into Stax's biggest hit.
Ingram recorded "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," in 1972 on Koko Records, which Stax distributed. The song was No. 1 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart and was later a hit for Barbara Mandrell.
His other popular songs include "Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One)," "I'll Be Your Shelter" and "You Never Miss Your Water."
"He was a soft-spoken, quiet person that I think relished peace," said Deanie Parker, who spent her career at Stax and Soulsville. "He was a very intense singer; he took it very seriously. When he was rehearsing, he'd go over it and over it and seek perfection."
He is to be buried Monday at Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery in Belleville.