Express Yourself

Wright wrote and produced it, and he told NAMM he also wrote the bass riff, which his friend Melvin Dunlap played. Warner Bros. issued it as the single 7417 in August 1970, 3:51, with "Living on Borrowed Time" on the B-side, after "Love Land" and before "Solution for Pollution". It reached number 12 on the Hot 100 for 15 weeks and number three on the R&B chart for 13, number 57 on the 1970 year-end Hot 100 and is certified silver in the UK. It was nominated for the 1971 Grammy for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals, losing to the Delfonics' "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)". The Philadelphia Tribune, in a snippet we could not open, says it came from a concert where a restless college-aged audience demanded more, and that Wright called it a God-send. Session credits beyond Dunlap, the studio and the recording date were not found.

N.W.A sampled it for "Express Yourself" on Straight Outta Compton (1988), Tinchy Stryder in 2009, Labrinth in 2012 (UK number 12) and Tyler, the Creator on "Droppin' Seeds" with Lil Wayne in 2017. Covers include Idris Muhammad (1971), Kurtis Blow (1988), Snooks Eaglin with Jon Cleary (2002) and the House Jacks (1997). It has been in the films Remember the Titans and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Whether our upload is the single or the album version is not known.