Luther Thomas Ingram was born in Jackson, Tennessee on November 30, 1937.[2] His family moved to Alton, Illinois in 1947.[3] Ingram's early interest in music led to formation of a gospel group, the Alton Crusaders, which included his brothers Archie and Richard. They eventually began singing doo-wop, and accompanied by bandleaderIke Turner, they recorded as the Gardenias for Federal Records in 1956.[4]
In 1965, Ingram recorded his first solo record. His first three recordings failed to chart but that changed when he signed for KoKo Records in the late 1960s, and his first hit "My Honey And Me" peaked at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 14 February 1970.[2] Many of his songs appeared in the pop and R&B charts, even though Koko was only a small label, owned by his manager and record producer, Johnny Baylor.[2] Koko and Baylor were closely associated with the Memphis based Stax Records label during the height of its commercial success.
Other popular tracks for Ingram included "Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One)", "Let's Steal Away to the Hideaway" and "I'll Be Your Shelter (In Time of Storm)".[2] He also co-authored "Respect Yourself", a million seller for the Staple Singers, on the Stax label, in 1971.[5] The acetate demo version of Ingram's, "Exus Trek" (an instrumental backing-track released 1966 as the B-side of HIB Records #698), became a sought after Northern soul track.[6] With the Stax connections, Ingram recorded at the Memphis label's studios, as well as other southern-based studios such as Muscle Shoals. Ingram was opening act for Isaac Hayes for some years, and often used Hayes' Movement band and female backing group for his 1970s recordings. He recorded into the 1980s and performed in concert until his health began declining in the mid-1990s.[3]