"Everybody Plays the Fool" is a 1972 song first recorded by American R&B group

The Main Ingredient The Main Ingredient was an American soul and R&B group best known for their 1972 hit song "Everybody Plays the Fool". Early history The group was formed in Harlem, New York City in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Dona ...

, and written by

J. R. Bailey James Ralph Bailey (June 17, 1937 – September 6, 1985) was an American R&B singer and songwriter. A member of The Cadillacs from 1956 to 1972, he also recorded as a solo artist. He worked as a background vocalist for singers such as Aretha Fran ...

Rudy Clark Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch polit ...

and Ken Williams. It was the first single released from the group's album '' Bitter Sweet'', released with the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

" Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me?)". "Everybody Plays the Fool" was the group's highest charting hit

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, reaching No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the fall of 1972. It also peaked at No. 2 on the ''

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 ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and at No. 25 on the ''Billboard''

adult contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

.Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications) It was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. Whitburn, Joel (1996). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 6th Edition (Billboard Publications) The song was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...

at the 1973 ceremony, losing to "

Papa Was a Rollin' Stone "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" is a song originally performed by Motown recording act The Undisputed Truth in 1972, though it became much better known after a Grammy-award winning cover by The Temptations was issued later the same year. This lat ...

". A 1991 cover of the song by

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is a retired American R&B and soul singer. He has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. ...

, from the album ''

Warm Your Heart ''Warm Your Heart'' is a 1991 album released by American R&B/soul singer Aaron Neville. It features the singles "Everybody Plays the Fool", "Somewhere, Somebody" and " Close Your Eyes". The "Close Your Eyes" single also featured album producer ...

'', was also successful, reaching #8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and #1 in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Aaron Neville version

American singer

recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

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 A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

with

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

, "

Don't Know Much "Don't Know Much" is a song written by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil and Tom Snow. Mann was the first to record the song in 1980, gaining a minor chart hit in the US. The song was made famous when it was covered as a duet by Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Ne ...

" (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 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 ...

. Alex Henderson felt that "Everybody Plays the Fool" showed that Neville still had plenty of warmth and charisma. Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' stated that "the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

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 ...

brother has found the right catchy tune on a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

beat to establish his enormous vocal acrobatics on EHR level again." David Fricke from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' described the song as a "rinky-dink reggae cover".Fricke, David (December 12, 1991-December 26, 1991). "The year in records". ''

''. Issue 619/620.

Music video

Neville's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, was set in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, and his niece

Arthel Neville Arthel Helena Neville (born October 20, 1962) is an American journalist, television personality, and weekend anchor for Fox News, based in Manhattan alongside co-anchor Eric Shawn. Neville is the daughter of Doris Neville and Art Neville, a Gramm ...

appearing.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1972 singles 1972 songs 1991 singles A&M Records singles Aaron Neville songs The Main Ingredient (band) songs Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand RCA Records singles Songs written by Rudy Clark