Classic Pop Icons

The Staple Singers’ “Respect Yourself” is Song of the Week on Classic Pop Icons. “Respect Yourself” was released on single in late 1971, backed with “You’re Gonna Make Me Cry”, and also featured on the group’s 1972 album “Be Altitude: Respect Yourself”.

The Staple Singers had been around for 20 years when they signed with Stax Records in 1968. Three years later, with two Steve Cropper-produced Stax albums behind them, they began to move in a new funk/soul direction under the influence of producer Al Bell and engineer Terry Manning. The first album under the stewardship of Bell and Manning was the impressive “The Staple Swingers,” which yielded three minor hit singles, but the real breakthrough came several months later with the release of “Respect Yourself” and the Number One follow-up single “I’ll Take You There”.

The idea for “Respect Yourself” came out of a conversation between singer Luther Ingram and Stax Records house songwriter Mack Rice during which a frustrated Ingram commented that black people need to learn to respect themselves. The song has a wholly positive message, stressing the importance of personal responsibility, self-respect, and acceptance of those with different religious beliefs and ethnic backgrounds (“Take your sheet off your face, boy, it’s a brand new day”). These were themes already explored by the group on songs such as “This Is a Perfect World,” “What’s Your Thing,” and “I Like the Things About You,” all of which were on “The Staple Swingers”.

As well as being the right message for the time, the song also has a great groove provided by the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, and fine alternating lead vocal performances by Roebuck “Pops” Staples and his daughter Mavis. The sermon is all the more convincing when delivered by two singers of different generations.

“Respect Yourself” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.

“Respect Yourself” – The Staple Singers

Authorship

“Respect Yourself” was written by Stax Records singer Luther Ingram and Stax house songwriter Mack Rice.

Recording date/location

The rhythm track for “Respect Yourself” was recorded in the summer of 1971 at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The vocals were then overdubbed at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee.

Musicians

The Staple Singers were:

• Roebuck “Pops” Staples
• Mavis Staples
• Cleotha Staples
• Yvonne Staples.

Original member, Pervis Staples, had left the group in 1969 and was replaced by his sister Yvonne.

The Staple Singers were backed by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (known as the Swampers) and the Memphis Horns:

• Eddie Hinton – lead guitar
• Jimmy Johnson – rhythm guitar
• David Hood – bass
• Berry Beckett – keyboards
• Roger Hawkins – drums
• Andrew Love – saxophone
• Wayne Jackson – trumpet.

There were also guitar and sythesiser overdubs from engineer Terry Manning. In January 2006, he told soundonsound.com:

“The Memphis Horns make up most of their own parts on the spur of the moment. That’s their MO…However, on ‘Respect Yourself’ I did have a horn line in my mind, so I demoed the part with the Moog IIIC near the end, and I also played it on guitar in a spot or two, and then when the Horns came in I had them copy that line at the end. Later on, however, Al Bell said ‘Look, I’m so used to hearing the synth, can’t we keep it, too?’ So, I had the synth starting the line and then the horns pick it up before I also pick it up on guitar later.”

Chart performance

“Respect Yourself” reached number two on Billboard’s R&B Chart and peaked at number 12 on the Hot 100.

Other notable versions

“Respect Yourself” – Huey Lewis & The News

Huey Lewis & The News included “Respect Yourself” on their Stax Records tribute album “Soulsville” in 2010. There’s no attempt to reinvent the wheel, but the band’s affinity with the material is clear and they do an excellent job. Dorothy Morrison takes Mavis Staples’ vocal part.

“Respect Yourself” – Robert Palmer

Robert Palmer recorded a strong cover of “Respect Yourself” for his 1995 album “The Very Best of Robert Palmer”. The original arrangement is again observed, but there’s good vocal interplay between Palmer and the backing vocalists, and his own performance increases in intensity as the song progresses. He clearly enjoyed the song.

The Staple Singers’ “Respect Yourself” is heard on “Be Altitude: Respect Yourself” and a number of compilations, including “The Very Best of the Staple Singers”.

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