Song · Staple Singers
“Respect Yourself” by Staple Singers
From the album City in the Sky (1996)
“Respect Yourself” by Staple Singers appears on 4 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 2001 and 2026. It was first released in 1996 on the album City in the Sky. Its best result is #77 on the WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,655 indie & aaa song of all time.
"Respect Yourself" began with a remark. Luther Ingram, a singer on the Stax roster, was fed up with the state of the world and told the label's house songwriter Mack Rice that black people had to learn some self-respect. Rice liked it enough to hang a funk groove on it, cut a demo and pitch it to producer Al Bell as a job for the Staple Singers, and the R&B and gospel group said yes.
Released late in 1971, it crossed over in a big way, reaching No. 12 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on the soul chart, and it remains one of the group's best-known records, a soul sermon you can dance to. The Grammy Hall of Fame inducted it in 2002, and Rolling Stone has twice placed it on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 77 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2022 | 601 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2026 | 892 | KXT | KXT 917 Song Countdown | 917 |
| 2026 | 526 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound | 1055 |
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