THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

693-William DeVaughn-Be Thankful for What You Got.

1974-Number 31 single.

Best Bit-At 2.11. ‘I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.’

William Edward DeVaughn Jr. was born on November 28th, 1947, in Washington D. C. United States, he has chosen to only record sporadically, with religion playing a big part in his life. The discography of William DeVaughn includes three studio Albums released between 1974-2008, and 13 singles issued between 1974-2017. In America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, only ‘Be Thankful for What You Got’ has reached the top 40, when peaking at Number 4, and selling in excess of two million copies. His only other Billboard Hot 100 entry remains ‘Blood Is Thicker than Water,’ which reached Number 43 also in 1974. William DeVaughn has also had three entries on the Billboard ‘Hot R&B’ chart, with ‘Be Thankful for What You Got’ getting to Number 1. In the UK, his only top 40 entry is ‘Be Thankful for What You Got,’ but his re-recorded version of the same track, did reach Number 44 in 1980.

In 1972 William DeVaughn was only a part time singer, as he had a full time job working as a drafting technician for the government. After hearing about an initiative run by ‘Omega Sound,’ a Philadelphia music production company, DeVaughn invested $900 of his own money to record a self penned track called ‘A Cadillac Don’t Come Easy,’ with the promise being that if the people at ‘Omega Sound’ liked what they heard, then he would get a recording contract. After being accepted ‘A Cadillac Don’t Come Easy,’ was worked on by John Davis who was the music producer at ‘Omega Sound’ as well as a member of the ‘Philadelphia International Records’ studio session group ‘MFSB.’ Davis, along with other ‘MFSB’ members helped DeVaughn to transform the track with a smoother arrangement.

‘Be Thankful for What You Got’ was the first of four singles released from William DeVaughn’s debut studio Album of the same name from 1974, the song was written by William DeVaughn, with the production being by Frank Fioravanti, and John Davis. Many members of ‘MFSB’ were involved in the making of ‘Be Thankful for What You Got,’ including Norman Harris, (1947-1987) (guitar) Bobby Eli, (1946-2023) (guitar) (see also best songs 742) Earl Young, (drums) (see also best songs 184) and Vince Montana Jr. (1928-2013) (vibraphone.) ‘MFSB’ which officially stood for ‘Mother Father Sister Brother,’ were a pool of 31 musicians, who after signing with ‘Philadelphia International Records’ in 1972, became the labels house band, in the same way the ‘The Funk Brothers’ were at ‘Motown Records. Many of the ‘MFSB’ group members left ‘Philadelphia International Records’ in the mid 1970’s over a financial dispute, those that left moved on to ‘Salsoul Records,’ where they became known as the ‘Salsoul Orchestra.’ Other members began performing as the ‘Ritchie Family Orchestra,’ and the ‘John Davis and the Monster Orchestra.’

‘Be Thankful for What You Got’ has some very famous lyrics, ‘Diamond in the back, sunroof top, diggin’ the scene with a gangsta lean.’ These lyrics have been sampled in many well known tracks over the years, including,’Gangsta Gangsta, by N.W.A., (1988) ‘Keepin’ the Faith,’ by De La Soul, (1991) and ‘Shut Up and Drive,’ by Rihanna (2007.) A ‘diamond in the back’ is a reference to the signature style of the diamond shaped rear window of a ‘Cadillac Coupe DeVille’ convertible car, and a ‘gangsta lean’ is African/American slang for the driving position in which the driver holds the wheel with the hand nearest the window while leaning toward the passenger seat, or sitting in a very reclined position.

‘Be Thankful for What You Got’ reminds us to be appreciative of our current situation in life. Don’t be jealous of what your neighbour has, but be thankful for what you got.

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’ve got.’