Be Altitude: Respect Yourself

Be Altitude: Respect Yourself
Studio album by
The Staple Singers
ReleasedFebruary 14, 1972
Recorded1971–1972
StudioMuscle Shoals Sound Studios, Muscle Shoals, Alabama;[1] Ardent Studios, Memphis, TN[1]
GenreSoul
Length41:22
LabelStax
ProducerAl Bell
The Staple Singers chronology
The Staple Swingers
(1971) 		Be Altitude: Respect Yourself
(1972) 		Be What You Are
(1973)

Be Altitude: Respect Yourself is a soul album by The Staple Singers released on February 14, 1972.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Record GuideB−[3]

It includes the hit songs "I'll Take You There" and "Respect Yourself". The musicians are the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and the Memphis Horns, augmented by overdubbed guitar, Moog synthesizer, Mellotron and harmonica by Terry Manning.

"We the People" was frequently used as a campaign song for U.S. President Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential election in the United States.

Track listing

# Title Writer(s) Time
1 "This World" William Friedman, Herb Schapiro 3:36
2 "Respect Yourself" Luther Ingram, Mack Rice 4:54
3 "Name the Missing Word" Homer Banks, Bettye Crutcher, Raymond Jackson 4:00
4 "I'll Take You There" Alvertis Isbell 4:43
5 "This Old Town (People in This Town)" Don Covay, Wilson Pickett, William Stevenson 4:39
6 "We the People" Booker T. Jones, Carl Smith 3:50
7 "Are You Sure" Homer Banks, Raymond Jackson 4:27
8 "Who Do You Think You Are (Jesus Christ the Superstar)?" Pops Staples 4:10
9 "I'm Just Another Soldier" Homer Banks, Raymond Jackson 3:50
10 "Who" Jeff Barry, Bobby Bloom 3:13

Personnel

Partial credits from Richard Buskin and Terry Manning.[1]

The Staple Singers
  • Mavis Staples – vocals
  • Pops Staples – vocals
  • Cleotha Staples – harmony and backing vocals
  • Yvonne Staples – harmony and backing vocals
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
Additional musicians
Production and technical staff
  • Al Bell – arranger, producer
  • Johnny Allen – arranger
  • Terry Manning – engineer, additional production (uncredited), additional arrangements (uncredited)
  • Jerry Masters – engineer
  • Ralph Rhodes – engineer

Charts

Chart (1972) Peak
position
Billboard Pop Albums[4] 19
Billboard Top Soul Albums[4] 3

Singles

Year Single Chart positions[5]
US
Pop 		US
Soul
1971 "Respect Yourself" 12 2
1972 "I'll Take You There" 1 1
"This World" 38 6

References

  1. ^ a b c Buskin, Richard. "Classic Tracks: The Staple Singers 'I'll Take You There'". SoundOnSound. Sound On Sound. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  2. ^ Bowman, Rob. The Staple Singers: Be Altitude: Respect Yourself > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 13, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^ a b "The Staple Singers US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  5. ^ "The Staple Singers US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-10-07.