"Don't Want to Be a Fool" is a song by American recording artist

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

, released in June 1991 as the second single from his seventh album, '' Power of Love'' (1991). The song peaked at No. 4 on the US ''Billboard'' R&B Singles chart on September 14. It also peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on November 2 same year.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

named the song one of the "high points" of the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' wrote, "Second single from Vandross' current ''Power of Love'' disc places the acclaimed vocalist in a familiar

R&B ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

setting. Lovely tune has already begun making radio and chart inroads, and should have no trouble matching the success of its predecessor." Henderson and DeVaney from '' Cashbox'' described it as "a smooth, mid-tempo "up-town

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

" song oozing with emotion."

Track listing

* US cassette single, CD single #"Don't Want to Be a Fool" — 4:35

Charts

References

1991 singles Luther Vandross songs Songs written by Luther Vandross 1991 songs Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Songs written by Marcus Miller Epic Records singles Soul ballads {{1990s-pop-song-stub