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"Everybody Plays the Fool"
Side A of US single
Single by the Main Ingredient
from the album Bitter Sweet
B-side	"Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me?)"
Released	June 1972
Recorded	1972
Studio	RCA Studio C (New York City)
Genre	Soul R&B
Length	3:22
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	J. R. Bailey Rudy Clark Ken Williams
Producer(s)	Luther Simmons Tony Silvester
The Main Ingredient singles chronology
"Black Seeds Keep on Growing" (1971) "Everybody Plays the Fool" (1972) "You've Got to Take It (If You Want It)" (1972)

"Everybody Plays the Fool" is a 1972 song first recorded by American R&B group The Main Ingredient, and written by J. R. Bailey, Rudy Clark and Ken Williams. It was the first single released from the group's album Bitter Sweet, released with the B-side "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me?)". "Everybody Plays the Fool" was the group's highest charting hit single, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the fall of 1972. It also peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart and at No. 25 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart. It was certified gold by the RIAA.

The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song at the 1973 ceremony, losing to "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone".

A 1991 cover of the song by Aaron Neville, from the album Warm Your Heart, was also successful, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 in New Zealand.

Charts

Aaron Neville version

"Everybody Plays the Fool"
Single by Aaron Neville
from the album Warm Your Heart
B-side	"House on a Hill"
Released	August 15, 1991
Length	4:25
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	J.R. Bailey Rudy Clark Ken Williams
Producer(s)	Russell Kunkel George Massenburg Linda Ronstadt
Aaron Neville singles chronology
"When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" (1990) "Everybody Plays the Fool" (1991) "Somewhere Somebody" (1991)

American singer Aaron Neville recorded a cover version of "Everybody Plays the Fool" in 1991 which also hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching No. 8 in the fall of that year, and it spent 20 weeks on the chart. This was Neville's third Top 10 hit on the pop chart, following "Tell It Like It Is" (1967, No. 2) and his duet with Linda Ronstadt, "Don't Know Much" (1989, No. 2). Neville's single also went to No. 1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In addition, it was a No. 1 single in New Zealand.

Critical reception

The song received a positive review from AllMusic. Alex Henderson felt that "Everybody Plays the Fool" showed that Neville still had plenty of warmth and charisma. Pan-European magazine Music & Media stated that "the New Orleans soul brother has found the right catchy tune on a reggae beat to establish his enormous vocal acrobatics on EHR level again." David Fricke from Rolling Stone described the song as a "rinky-dink reggae cover".

Music video

Neville's music video was set in New Orleans, and featured an appearance of his niece, Arthel Neville.

Charts

References

1. "New Radio Action and Billboard Picks Singles". Billboard. June 17, 1972. p. 70.
2. Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "Walking in Rhythm: Seventies Soul". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 64. ISBN 031214704X.
3. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
5. Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada.
6. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
7. "Top 100 1972-10-14". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
8. "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2013-07-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
10. "Top 100 Hits of 1972/Top 100 Songs of 1972". Musicoutfitters.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
11. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1972". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-08-14. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
12. ^ Henderson, Alex. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
13. ^ "Billboard Song Position". Billboard.com. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
14. "Review: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. May 18, 1991. p. 12. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
15. Fricke, David (December 12, 1991-December 26, 1991). "The year in records". Rolling Stone. Issue 619/620.
16. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 201.
17. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1606." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
18. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1661." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
19. "Aaron Neville – Everybody Plays the Fool". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
20. ^ "AllMusic awards". AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
21. "Top 100 1991-10-26". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
22. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
23. "Recorded Music New Zealand - Top Selling Singles of 1991". Retrieved 2016-04-27.
24. "1991". Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 2016-10-06.

• 1972 singles
• 1972 songs
• 1991 singles
• A&M Records singles
• Aaron Neville songs
• Joker (2019 film)
• The Main Ingredient (band) songs
• Cashbox number-one singles
• Number-one singles in New Zealand
• RCA Records singles
• Songs written by Rudy Clark
• Songs written by J. R. Bailey