- November 6, 2024
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Cuba Gooding, Sr., the soul-singing frontman of the 1970s band The Main Ingredient and the father of Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. -- died on April 20 at age 72 in Los Angeles.
While the musician still continued to perform in recent years, he led a quieter lifestyle than that of his Motown years when he lived in Flagler Beach up until about a year ago.
The singer and his longtime girlfriend -- who went by the name Kimberly Gooding, even though the two weren't married, according to local residents who knew the couple -- were very involved with the Flagler County Art League.
"They were a great couple, both of them," said Bob Ammon, who teaches painting at FCAL.
The Goodings attended exhibits regularly at the Palm Coast art gallery when they lived in the area. Kimberly Gooding, who Ammon estimated was somewhere in her 60s, is an acrylic artist.
"We used to joke that whenever we would have a show, he [Gooding, Sr.] would suck up all the oxygen in the room," Ammon recalls with a laugh. "Cuba was just very energetic, he was quite the character, very funny, very full of life ... he was just always 'on.'"
Ammon kept in touch with Kimberly Gooding after the couple moved to Texas last year, but he hadn't talked to her in awhile.
"I know Cuba wanted to move to L.A., but Kimberly didn't," Ammon said. "The news [of Gooding's death] is just very sad."
In his time in Flagler, Gooding, Sr., known best for his 1972 R & B hit, "Everybody Plays the Fool," performed regionally, including shows in the Daytona, Jacksonville and Orlando areas.
