Respect Yourself

"Respect Yourself" was written by Luther Ingram and Mack Rice, produced by Al Bell and released by Stax on October 1, 1971. Wikipedia says Ingram, frustrated with the state of the world, told Rice that Black people needed to learn to respect themselves, and Rice wrote a funk groove around the idea and suggested the Staples record it. A Bear Family page quotes Rice saying the two came up with the title together in his Stax office, so the handoff is not settled. It reached number 12 on the Hot 100 and number 2 on the R&B chart, sold over a million copies and went gold. It entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 and ranked number 468 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs list in 2010.

Basic tracks were cut at Muscle Shoals Sound, a former casket factory, with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section; Mix magazine's "Classic Tracks" feature names Eddie Hinton as the rhythm guitarist, while Wikipedia lists Jimmy Johnson. Jerry Masters engineered, and Mavis recorded a rough guide vocal that she delivered so well that parts of it were kept. At Ardent in Memphis, Terry Manning added guitar, harmonica, keyboards and a Moog line, and mixed the record. Manning wanted rock touches such as fuzz guitar, and Bell wanted a Jamaican feel. Pops and Mavis share the lead, and the Memphis Horns, Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love, overdubbed their parts after the vocals. Manning said of Mavis that nearly every take she did was great.

The Kane Gang took the song to number 21 in the UK in 1984, and Bruce Willis, as Bruno Radolini, reached number 5 on the Hot 100 with it in 1987 with the Pointer Sisters on vocals. Robert Palmer's version reached number 45 in the UK in 1995. Spike Lee used the original in Crooklyn (1994). The Staple Singers performed it at the Wattstax concert in 1972 and at their Rock Hall induction in 1999.