Everybody Plays the Fool

"Everybody Plays the Fool"
"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 Records
Songwriter(s)	J.R. Bailey; Rudy Clark; Ken Williams;
Producer(s)	Russell Kunkel; George Massenburg; Linda Ronstadt;
Aaron Neville singles chronology

"Everybody Plays the Fool"
"Everybody Plays the Fool"
Single by The Main Ingredient
from the album Bitter Sweet
B-side	"Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me?)"
Released	August 1972
Recorded	1972
Studio	RCA Studio C (New York City, New York)
Genre	Soul; R&B;
Length	3:22
Label	RCA Records
Songwriter(s)	J. R. Bailey; Rudy Clark; Ken Williams;
Producer(s)	Luther Simmons; Tony Silvester;
The Main Ingredient singles chronology

"Everybody Plays the Fool" is the title of a popular song written by J.R. Bailey, Rudy Clark and Ken Williams. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best R&B Song at the 1973 ceremony.

The first recording of the song to reach the Top 40 in the United States was by the R&B group The Main Ingredient, a trio consisting at the time of Cuba Gooding Sr., Tony Silvester and Luther Simmons, Jr. Their version of "Everybody Plays the Fool" rose to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the fall of 1972, and was certified gold by the RIAA.^[1] This version also peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart and at No. 25 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.^[2] It was the group's highest charting hit single.

Chart performance[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (1972)	Peak position
Australia KMR	44
Canada RPM Top Singles^[3]	6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[4]	3
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	25
U.S. Billboard R&B	2
U.S. Cash Box Top 100^[5]	1

Year-end charts[]

Chart (1972)	Rank
Australia^[6]	136
Canada^[7]	66
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[8]	29
U.S. Cash Box^[9]	29

Aaron Neville version[]

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.^[1]^[11] 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.^[2] In addition, it was a No. 1 single in New Zealand.

Music video[]

Neville's music video, was set in New Orleans, and his niece Arthel Neville appearing.

Critical reception[]

The song received a positive review from AllMusic. Alex Henderson wrote "Everybody Plays the Fool" showed that Neville still had plenty of warmth and charisma.^[10]

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (1991)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[12]	52
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[13]	19
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)^[14]	3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[15]	1
US Billboard Hot 100^[11]^[16]	8
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[16]	1
US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard)	2
US Cash Box Top 100^[17]	11

Year-end charts[]

Chart (1991)	Rank
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary^[18]	28
New Zealand^[19]	14
US Billboard Hot 100^[20]	87

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
^ Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly".
^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
^ "Top 100 1972-10-14". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
^ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2013-07-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Top 100 Hits of 1972/Top 100 Songs of 1972". Musicoutfitters.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1972". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Henderson, Alex. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Billboard Song Position". Billboard.com. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1606." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1661." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
^ "Charts.nz – Aaron Neville – Everybody Plays the Fool". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "AllMusic awards". AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
^ "Top 100 1991-10-26". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
^ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
^ "Recorded Music New Zealand - Top Selling Singles of 1991". Retrieved 2016-04-27.
^ "1991". Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 2016-10-06.

External links[]

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

[Whitburn-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)

[Hyatt-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)

[3] Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly".

[4] Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X

[5] "Top 100 1972-10-14". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-27.

[6] "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-10-06.

[7] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2013-07-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[8] "Top 100 Hits of 1972/Top 100 Songs of 1972". Musicoutfitters.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2016-10-06.

[9] "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1972". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-01-03.

[allmusic1-10] Jump up to: ^a ^b Henderson, Alex. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2016.

[Billboard_Song_Position-11] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Billboard Song Position". Billboard.com. Retrieved April 29, 2016.

[12] Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.

[sc_Canadatopsingles_-13] "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1606." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2019.

[sc_Canadaadultcontemporary_-14] "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1661." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2019.

[sc_New_Zealand_Aaron_Neville-15] "Charts.nz – Aaron Neville – Everybody Plays the Fool". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 23, 2019.

[All_Music_Awards-16] Jump up to: ^a ^b "AllMusic awards". AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2016.

[17] "Top 100 1991-10-26". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-29.

[18] "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-06.

[19] "Recorded Music New Zealand - Top Selling Singles of 1991". Retrieved 2016-04-27.

[20] "1991". Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 2016-10-06.

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show v t The Main Ingredient
Jerome Jackson Stanley Alston Cuba Gooding Sr. Donald McPherson Tony Silvester Luther Simmons Carl Tompkins Larry Moore Carlton Blount George Staley, Sr.
Studio albums	Black Seeds (1971) Bitter Sweet (1972) Afrodisiac (1973) Euphrates River (1974)
Singles	"Everybody Plays the Fool" "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely"

show v t Aaron Neville
Studio albums	Warm Your Heart
Singles	"Tell It Like It Is" "Everybody Plays the Fool" "Don't Know Much" "All My Life" "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" "Close Your Eyes" "The Grand Tour" "That's What My Love Is For"