(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right

For the TV series, see If Loving You Is Wrong.

"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" is a song written by Stax Records songwriters Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, and Raymond Jackson. Originally written for The Emotions, it has been performed by many singers, most notably by Luther Ingram, whose original recording^[1] topped the R&B chart for four weeks and rose to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972.^[2] Billboard ranked it as the No. 16 song for 1972.^[3]

"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right"
Single by Luther Ingram
from the album If Loving You Is Wrong I Don't Want to Be Right
B-side	"Puttin' Game Down"
Released	April 1972
Genre	Soul
Length	3:32
Label	KoKo
Songwriter(s)	Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, Raymond Jackson
Producer(s)	John Baylor
Luther Ingram singles chronology
"You Were Made For Me" (1972) "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" (1972) "I'll Be Your Shelter (In Time of Storm)" (1972)

"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right"
Song by Millie Jackson
from the album Caught Up
B-side	"The Rap"
Released	December 1974
Recorded	1974
Genre	Soul
Length	3:27 (single version) 3:56 (album version)
Label	Spring
Composer(s)	Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, Raymond Jackson
Producer(s)	Brad Shapiro

"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right"
Single by Barbara Mandrell
from the album Moods
B-side	"I Feel the Hurt Coming On"
Released	February 17, 1979
Recorded	c. 1978
Genre	Country
Length	3:05
Label	ABC
Songwriter(s)	Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, Raymond Jackson
Producer(s)	Tom Collins
Barbara Mandrell singles chronology
"Sleeping Single in a Double Bed" (1978) "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" (1979) "Fooled by a Feeling" (1979)

In 1972–73, The Faces recorded the song as an outtake for Ooh La La (1973), their final studio album. In 1974, Millie Jackson released her version of the song which received two Grammy Award nominations.^[4][5] In 1978, Barbara Mandrell's version topped the U.S. country chart, reached number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 (number 27 Cashbox), and was nominated for Single of the Year at the 1979 CMA (Country Music Association) Awards. Rod Stewart recorded the song for Foot Loose & Fancy Free (1977), his eighth album; as a single it peaked at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart in 1980.

Content

The song is about an adulterous love affair, told from the point of view of either the mistress or the cheating spouse, depending on the gender of the performer. Regardless, both parties involved express their desire to maintain the affair, while at the same time acknowledging that the relationship is wrong according to conventional moral standards.

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.^[6] 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 unrepentant Jackson discusses her status as the "other woman" and why she loves it.^[7]

The song is sampled in Travis Scott, Young Thug, and Rich Homie Quan's song "Mamacita" and Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar's song "Nosetalgia"

Notable performers

It was first recorded by The Emotions (but their version has never been released), and by Veda Brown, whose version was finally released in 2008.^[8] Other notable singers to cover it include: country singer Jackie Burns (whose version made Hot Country Songs in 1972),^[9] Isaac Hayes, Millie Jackson, Rod Stewart, Percy Sledge, Bobby "Blue" Bland, David Ruffin, Barbara Mason, LeAnn Rimes, Renée Geyer, Ramsey Lewis, jazz chanteuse Della Reese, reggae singers Alton Ellis, George Faith and Glen Washington, Tom Jones, Cassandra Wilson, Nathan Cavaleri, Rania Zeriri, Barbara Mandrell and Johanne Desforges (French cover: Si je ne peux t'aimer a quoi bon exister).

In 2020, electronic musician Nicolas Jaar (under his moniker Against All Logic) released his own version called "If Loving You Is Wrong" from his second album 2017-2019, which heavily samples Ingram's version, notably the chorus.

Chart recordings

Luther Ingram

Chart (1972)	Peak Position
US Billboard Hot 100^[10]	3
US Best Selling Soul Singles (Billboard)^[11]	1

Jackie Burns

Chart (1972)	Peak Position
US Billboard Hot Country Singles^[9]	71

Millie Jackson

Chart (1975)	Peak Position
US Billboard Hot 100^[12]	42
US Hot Soul Singles (Billboard)^[13]	42

Barbara Mandrell

Chart (1979)	Peak Position
US Billboard Hot 100^[14]	31
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[15]	1
US Billboard Adult Contemporary^[16]	6

Year-end charts

Chart (1979)	Position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[17]	19

Rhonda Clark

Chart (1992)	Peak Position
US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard)^[18]	6

References

1. "If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right)", SecondhandSongs.com. Retrieved March 13, 2017
2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 274.
3. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972
4. "Millie Jackson". MTV Artists. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
5. Patrick Mondout. . Super70s.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
6. "MILLIE JACKSON: Caught Up / Still Caught Up". Amazon Music. 1999. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
7. "Catching Up with Soul Icon Millie Jackson". National Public Radio. May 19, 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
8. The Stax Solo Recordings: Judy Clay & Veda Brown, Kent label Cd, Ace Records, London, (2008).
9. Joel Whitburn, Top Country Singles 1944-1993, p.488
10. "Luther Ingram Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
11. "Luther Ingram Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
12. "Millie Jackson Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
13. "Millie Jackson Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
14. "Barbara Mandrell Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
15. "Barbara Mandrell Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
16. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 148.
17. "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1979". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
18. "Rhonda Clark Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.

External links

• Video: Luther Ingram on YouTube
• Video: Millie Jackson live performance on YouTube
• Barbara Mandrell - (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right on YouTube