William DeVaughn "Be Thankful for What You've Got"

[real2reel]

OK everyone may remember hearing the Ludacris sample two years ago (Diamond In The Back) but incase you didn't know the song was originally recorded by a 70s soul artists named William DeVaughn. I remember hearing my father play this a few times when I was younger and I use to always sing along. I never knew who the song was by but I soon found out later on. I really love the lyrics to this song and the smooth out melody. He must not have been a big artist because his name doesn't ring a bell like some of the greats during that time.

[Deleted]

It's such a smooth laid back track. I love it.

[billcs]

One of my all time favourite songs!!!

[Me. I Am Justin...]

A classic JAM!

[A Thug Named Slickback]

This song really is a true classic... A #1 hit.
I really like Omar & Erykah Badu's remake of this song a lot. It's nowhere near as good as the original, though.

[cartman2002]

Be Thankful For What You Got reached #4 in 1974

[Agent Yoncé]

Originally called 'A Cadillac Don't Come Easy', this R&B penned classic was conceived w/Curtis Mayfield in mind. Not only it's often mistaken for a Mayfield's track, due to his lyrical & sonic influence, it's improperly coined as 'Diamond in the Back'.



This have been covered, sampled & referenced within the media by several different artists & on television over the past 30+ years. Lyrically, it has that timeless, soulful appeal that is still quite relatable in today's society, in my eyes. One of many reasons why I love this song.

[Deleted]

#1 on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles chart and #4 on the Hot 100.

Love it.

[tekkenguy]

Ahh. One of the greatest R&B one-hit wonders of the '70s. I've always liked "Hang On In There Baby" by Johnny Bristol better, but this one's a jam too.

[halo19]

Love both this & Massive Attack's remake.

[Deleted]

#156 on Pitchfork's 200 Best Songs of the 1970s

William DeVaughn’s 1974 single “Be Thankful for What You Got” is a reflection on economic inequality addressed to a disenfranchised black community. It builds its message environmentally; the song shimmers into view like buildings bruising in the heat. “You may not have a car at all,” DeVaughn sings, his voice slipping into a glassy falsetto, “but remember brothers and sisters/You can still stand tall.” It even expresses itself with economy: the arrangement is a lesson in jazzy restraint, all subtleties and small gestures, guitars and organs ebbing until they form a landscape of overlapping shadows. The chorus—“Diamond in the back/Sunroof top/Diggin’ the scene/With a gangster lean”—has been functionally amputated from the song into a larger and more disorganized context; DeVaughn’s words and cadence have been absorbed into the lexicon of hip-hop and modern R&B through both sampling and interpolation, appearing in fragments in songs as varied as N.W.A.’s “Gangsta Gangsta” and Miguel’s “Candles in the Sun.” Wherever it appears, in whatever mutation, it floats in the atmosphere of black urban experience. –Brad Nelson