Luther Ingram's Re-Arrangement

Luther Ingram - Since You Don't Want Me (1972 version)

Southern soul man Luther Ingram passed away last year, right at the time that his work was finally beginning to receive serious reissue treatment via Ace Records' new series on Kent of his Ko Ko recordings. (I will refer you to Red Kelly's outstanding The B-Side feature of Ingram and to Ace's Pity for the Lonely product info page for more info about Ingram and the reissues.)

On Episode 24 of the podcast I featured the jaunty "Since You Don't Want Me," a 1969 Ingram single on Ko Ko. Once Ko Ko principal Johnny Baylor hooked up with Stax Records at the dawn of the '70s, he was able to bring his label and his star artist to Memphis and start up a hitmaking streak, the pinnacle being "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," a smash hit in 1972. Just prior to that monumental achievement, however, the Ko Ko LP I've Been Here All The Time had been released to showcase Ingram's early '70s sides, and today's feature was a notable track. Ingram's reworking of "Since You Don't Want Me" pulls it out of dance territory and makes it instead a nice country-flavored ballad featuring some nice harmony work on the choruses. It's a very effective re-arrangement of the tune, making both versions of the tune a real treat to hear.