Respect Yourself - Staple Singers (1971)

Gospel-style crossover hits were not uncommon in the early '70s, but today's "Great Song of 1971" was somewhat unique.

Stax Records was known for its mixture of Southern Gospel and Soul artists and The Staple Singers were right at the top of their roster of hitmakers.

In 1971, Stax recording artist Luther Ingram (best known for his hit "If Loving You is Wrong, I Don't Want to Be Right," which we highlighted back on 3/26/22), was complaining to songwriter Mack Rice about the state of the world when he said, "Black people need to learn to respect themselves."

Mack not only agreed, but thought it sounded like a great idea for a song. He wrapped a funky groove around the words "Respect Yourself," recorded a demo and sent it off to The Staple Singers to see if they'd record it.

They did, backed by the premier session musicians from the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. They even named their next album after it: "Be Attitudes/Respect Yourself."

As a single, "Respect Yourself" was a Soul/Gospel-styled affirmation that immediately crossed over from Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Chart, where it reached #2...to the Hot 100, where it landed at #12. The song then spent several years on Billboard's list of the "Top 500 Songs of All Time," dropping off with the 2021 update.

"Respect Yourself" was covered a number of times, most notably by actor Bruce Willis, who, in 1987--using his fictitious alter ego Bruno Radolini, and with some major help from The Pointer Sisters--released it from his album "The Return of Bruno."

Bruce's surprisingly excellent version was a Top 10 hit in the US (#5), The UK (#7) and Canada (#8).

That made "Respect Yourself" a "Great Song of the '70s and '80s!"

Staple Singers (1971):

Bruce Willis/Pointer Sisters (1987):