Be Thankful for What You Got (song)
Encyclopedia
"Be Thankful for What You Got" is a soul
song written and first performed by William DeVaughn
.
group — guitarist Norman Harris
, drummer Earl Young
, bassist Ron Baker, and vibist
Vince Montana — secured by Allan Felder, who also developed the separate ad lib back-up chorus with his sister's vocal choir. Frank Fioravanti could have released the record on the company's own label Sound Gems, but it was just starting out and instead secured its release on the Roxbury Records record label.
The record
sold nearly two million copies on its release in spring 1974, reaching #1 on the U.S.
R&B charts and #4 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart
, selling a million copies. With a sound and content influenced by Curtis Mayfield
(and often erroneously attributed to him), its simple and encouraging lyrics
hit home, to the extent that it became featured on gospel
radio station
s.
The edit version, which is the first part of the song, became the hit. The other half of the song is a longer instrumental with the repeated chords and rhythm before the final chorus comes in. The song is 7 minutes long, and radio stations preferred the singing portions over the instrumental portions.
DeVaughn's second album Figures Can't Calculate (TEC, 1980) included a remake.
The song was covered in 1974 by Arthur Lee
and Love
on their Reel to Real
album; a reggae version was done by Bunny Clarke (produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1975 and by Winston Curtis in 1987; in 1991 by the British trip-hop band Massive Attack
on their album Blue Lines
and by Peter Blakely as the opening theme for the movie The Taking of Beverly Hills
, by Yo La Tengo
on its 1997 "Little Honda
" EP
and by Lawrence "Lipbone" Redding
on his 2009 Science of Bootyism album.
The song has been sampled several times, such as by N.W.A in "Gangsta Gangsta
", Ludacris
in "Diamond in the Back
" & Ice Cube
in "Stand Tall". In the song "Still Fly
" by Big Tymers
the last verse contains a line which makes reference to an 'old-school Caddy with a diamond in the back' and imitates DeVaughn's higher tone.
The song is featured in the films Bug
(2002), Be Cool
(2005) and La Mission (2010).
The song is referenced in the Parliament-Funkadelic
song "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)
", with the lyric: "Gangster lean; Y'all should dig my sun-roof top."
. A music video was produced for the song; however, it was not released as a stand-alone commercial single. Instead, a remix by Paul Oakenfold
was also included on their 1992 single release Massive Attack EP.
's cover version, "Be Thankful for What You Got", appeared on his 2009 EP Lipbone Redding and the LipBone Orchestra: Science of Bootyism, BePop Records. The EP contains two versions of the song.
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
song written and first performed by William DeVaughn
William DeVaughn
William DeVaughn is an American R&B singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known for the hit song "Be Thankful for What You Got".-Biography:...
.
History
DeVaughn wrote "A Cadillac Don't Come Easy" eventually re-written to become "Be Thankful for What You Got" in 1972, and spent $900 toward its development to Omega Sound [A Philadelphia Production House]. The producers at Omega [Frank Fioravanti and John Davis] wanted to go for a nasty groove and wrote a smooth arrangement, eventually booking time to record at Sigma Sound Studio in Philadelphia. Also in the box above right it should say producer Frank Fioravanti and John Davis (not William Devaughn .. Devaughn is the artist not the producer..The session featured members of the MFSBMFSB
MFSB was a pool of more than thirty studio musicians based at Philadelphia’s famed Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bell, and backed up such groups as Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O’Jays, the Stylistics, the...
group — guitarist Norman Harris
Norman Harris
Norman Harris was an American guitarist, producer, arranger and songwriter associated with Philly soul. He was a founding member of MFSB and one-third of the production trio of Baker-Harris-Young...
, drummer Earl Young
Earl Young (drummer)
Earl Young is a Philadelphia-based drummer who rose to prominence in the early 1970s as part of the Philly Soul sound. Young is best known as the founder and leader of The Trammps who had a hit record with "Disco Inferno". Young, along with Ronnie Baker and Norman Harris, was the owner of the...
, bassist Ron Baker, and vibist
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
Vince Montana — secured by Allan Felder, who also developed the separate ad lib back-up chorus with his sister's vocal choir. Frank Fioravanti could have released the record on the company's own label Sound Gems, but it was just starting out and instead secured its release on the Roxbury Records record label.
The record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
sold nearly two million copies on its release in spring 1974, reaching #1 on the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B charts and #4 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, selling a million copies. With a sound and content influenced by Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
(and often erroneously attributed to him), its simple and encouraging lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
hit home, to the extent that it became featured on gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s.
The edit version, which is the first part of the song, became the hit. The other half of the song is a longer instrumental with the repeated chords and rhythm before the final chorus comes in. The song is 7 minutes long, and radio stations preferred the singing portions over the instrumental portions.
Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac
Gangsta whitewalls, TV antennas in the back
You may not have a car at all
But remember brothers and sisters
You can still stand tall
Just be thankful for what you got.
Diamond in the back, sunroof top
Diggin' the scene with a gangsta lean
DeVaughn's second album Figures Can't Calculate (TEC, 1980) included a remake.
The song was covered in 1974 by Arthur Lee
Arthur Lee (musician)
Arthur Lee was the frontman, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of the Los Angeles rock band Love, best known for the critically acclaimed 1967 album, Forever Changes.-Early years:...
and Love
Love (band)
Love was an American rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer/songwriter Arthur Lee and lead guitarist Johnny Echols...
on their Reel to Real
Reel to Real (Love album)
Reel to Real is the seventh album by the American rock band Love, released in 1975.-Background:The first Love album in four years and the final Love album for nearly twenty years, Reel to Real has only one direct link to any of the previous albums by the group, bandleader Arthur Lee...
album; a reggae version was done by Bunny Clarke (produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1975 and by Winston Curtis in 1987; in 1991 by the British trip-hop band Massive Attack
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
on their album Blue Lines
Blue Lines
-Personnel:* All tracks produced and mixed by Massive Attack, Cameron McVey and Jonny Dollar.** Robert "3D" Del Naja: vocals - keyboards** Grantley "Daddy G" Marshall: vocals** Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles: keyboards# "Safe from Harm"#* Shara Nelson: vocals...
and by Peter Blakely as the opening theme for the movie The Taking of Beverly Hills
The Taking of Beverly Hills
The Taking of Beverly Hills is a 1991 American action film, directed by Sidney J. Furie. An action film in the vein of Die Hard, the film stars Ken Wahl, fresh off the success of the television series Wiseguy, as football hero Boomer Hayes, with Matt Frewer stepping up to the plate as his sidekick,...
, by Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo, sometimes abbreviated as YLT, is an American alternative rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan , Georgia Hubley , and James McNew .Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential...
on its 1997 "Little Honda
Little Honda
"Little Honda" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1964 album All Summer Long, and it was also featured on their EP, Four by The Beach Boys. It was covered by The Hondells, whose recording peaked at #9 on the U.S. pop...
" EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
and by Lawrence "Lipbone" Redding
Lawrence "Lipbone" Redding
Lawrence "Lipbone" Redding is an American born songwriter, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist. He is most noted for his ability to imitate accurately brass instruments and incorporate them into live musical performances. The name LIPBONE is a contraction of “Lip Trombone”...
on his 2009 Science of Bootyism album.
The song has been sampled several times, such as by N.W.A in "Gangsta Gangsta
Gangsta Gangsta (N.W.A song)
"Gangsta Gangsta" is a single from American rap group N.W.A's 1988 album, Straight Outta Compton. The song later appeared on the N.W.A Greatest Hits album and The Best of N.W.A. - The Strength of Street Knowledge. The song conveys the dangers of living in the streets of Compton, California and...
", Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
in "Diamond in the Back
Diamond in the Back
"Diamond in the Back" is a single released from the album Chicken-n-Beer by Ludacris. It is based on William DeVaughn's "Be Thankful for What You Got" and samples it heavily in the southern chopped & screwed format. It is produced by DJ Paul & Juicy J of Three Six Mafia...
" & Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
in "Stand Tall". In the song "Still Fly
Still Fly
"Still Fly" is the first single from the album Hood Rich by the hip hop group Big Tymers. It reached #3 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart, #4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was covered by The Devil Wears Prada in 2008 for the compilation album Punk...
" by Big Tymers
Big Tymers
The Big Tymers were an American rap duo active from 1997 to 2005 from New Orleans, Louisiana. The Big Tymers consisted of Cash Money Records co-founder, Baby and former Cash Money in-house producer, Mannie Fresh. Baby later changed his stage name to Birdman after the group was dissolved...
the last verse contains a line which makes reference to an 'old-school Caddy with a diamond in the back' and imitates DeVaughn's higher tone.
The song is featured in the films Bug
Bug (2002 film)
Bug is a 2002 American comedy film, directed by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. It was released on February 28, 2002.-Plot:An eclectic group of individuals in Silverlake, LA, are propelled by a series of cause-and-effect chain reactions to a common destiny....
(2002), Be Cool
Be Cool
Be Cool is a 2005 crime-comedy film adapted from Elmore Leonard's 1999 novel of the same name and the sequel to Leonard's 1990 novel Get Shorty about mobster Chili Palmer's entrance into the film industry.The film adaptation of Be Cool began production in 2003. It was directed by F...
(2005) and La Mission (2010).
The song is referenced in the Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums...
song "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)
P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)
"P. Funk " is a funk song by Parliament. It is the first track on their 1975 album Mothership Connection and was the first single to be released from the album. It was also released as the B-side of the album's second single, "Give Up The Funk ". It reached number 33 on the U.S...
", with the lyric: "Gangster lean; Y'all should dig my sun-roof top."
Massive Attack version
Massive Attack's cover version, retitled "Be Thankful for What You've Got", was featured on their 1991 debut album Blue LinesBlue Lines
-Personnel:* All tracks produced and mixed by Massive Attack, Cameron McVey and Jonny Dollar.** Robert "3D" Del Naja: vocals - keyboards** Grantley "Daddy G" Marshall: vocals** Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles: keyboards# "Safe from Harm"#* Shara Nelson: vocals...
. A music video was produced for the song; however, it was not released as a stand-alone commercial single. Instead, a remix by Paul Oakenfold
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold is a British record producer and a trance DJ.-Early Career: 1979–84:Paul Oakenfold's career was set to be a chef, after having hopes of becoming part of a band. He describes his early life as a "bedroom deejay" in a podcasted interview with Vancouver's 24 Hours, stating he grew...
was also included on their 1992 single release Massive Attack EP.
Massive Attack EP track listing
- "Hymn of the Big Wheel" (Nellee HooperNellee HooperNellee Hooper is a British producer/remixer/composer best known for his work with Björk, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Sinéad O'Connor, Garbage, Andrea Corr, U2, Sneaker Pimps, Soul II Soul and Massive Attack...
Remix) – 4:47 - "Home of the Whale" – 4:02
- "Be Thankful for What You've Got" (Paul OakenfoldPaul OakenfoldPaul Mark Oakenfold is a British record producer and a trance DJ.-Early Career: 1979–84:Paul Oakenfold's career was set to be a chef, after having hopes of becoming part of a band. He describes his early life as a "bedroom deejay" in a podcasted interview with Vancouver's 24 Hours, stating he grew...
Remix) – 4:36 - "Any Love" (Larry Heard Remix) – 4:27
Lipbone Redding version
Lawrence "Lipbone" ReddingLawrence "Lipbone" Redding
Lawrence "Lipbone" Redding is an American born songwriter, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist. He is most noted for his ability to imitate accurately brass instruments and incorporate them into live musical performances. The name LIPBONE is a contraction of “Lip Trombone”...
's cover version, "Be Thankful for What You Got", appeared on his 2009 EP Lipbone Redding and the LipBone Orchestra: Science of Bootyism, BePop Records. The EP contains two versions of the song.
Science of Bootyism EP track listing
- "The Land of Drunk and Stoned" – 4:24
- "Sweet Melinda" – 4:56
- "Be Thankful for What You Got" – 5:10
- "Old Tattoo" – 4:58
- "Ghetto Girl (Downtown Deep Ghetto Mix") - 7:00
- "Ghetto Girl (Uptown Slum Club Mix)" - 5:51
- "Be Thankful for What You Got" (long version) - 6:12
Sources
- Nathan, David. Notes for William DeVaughn: Be Thankful for What You Got: A Golden Classics Edition. Collectables [sic] CD COL-5271. Collectables [sic] Record Corp., 1994.