Where to begin a review of William DeVaughn’s 1974 ghetto yacht classic “Be Thankful for What You Got (Pt. 1& Pt. 2),” which isn’t just the coolest song ever written about an inner-city ride of choice (cooler even than War’s “Low Rider”) but could be the best song ever written about a car, period?
The DC sewer system? The Miracle at Sigma Sound Studio? DeVaughn’s melt-in-your-mouth Curtis Mayfield-school vocal stylings? The smooth groove that never, ever, lets up? The fact that DeVaughn’s state-of-the-art Cadillac ride has a goddamn TV in it?
When I say DeVaughn’s ghetto yacht rocker is the best song about a car ever recorded, I mean it’s slicker and smoother and in general more groovalicious than Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats’ “Rocket 88,” Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally,” Outkast’s “Two Dope Boyz (in a Cadillac),” Charlie Ryan’s “Hot Rod Lincoln,” Gary Numan’s “Cars,” the Beastie Boys’ “High Plains Drifter,” Chuck Berry’s “Jaguar and Thunderbird” and “No Particular Place to Go,” Golden Earring’s “Radar Love,” Meridian Dan Feat. Big H and JME’s “German Whip,” Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Crown Victoria Custom ’51,” Dwight Yoakam’s “Long White Cadillac,” the Mountain Goats’ “See America Right,” and any song you want to add to the list.
It’s better even than Neil Young’s “Long May You Run”! Better even than Sammy Johns’ “Chevy Van”! Better even than the other white Sammy (Hagar that is) and his “I Can’t Drive 55″!
But back to the sewers of our Nation’s Capitol. Before he decided to give music a full-time go, DeVaughn designed sewers as a DC government drafting technician, and returned to said job after his career (he wasn’t a one-hit wonder, but he came close) foundered. And lest you think DeVaughn was some Superfly-ass individual disguised as a nerdy sewer designer, he wasn’t. He was a Jehovah’s Witness, so un-Superfly he rode public transportation even during (or so I’ve read) his national tours, which has to be the least cool soul god move ever, aside from designing sewers that is.
But none of that matters. Just like it doesn’t matter that Massive Attack recorded a pretty damn righteous version of “Be Thankful for What You Got” in 1991, or that Rihanna swiped DeVaughn’s “gangster lean” for her 2009 electro-metal funky bombshell “Shut Up and Drive.”
What matters is that DeVaughn wrote a song called “A Cadillac Don’t Come Easy” in 1972, then shelled out $900 from his own pocket to record it at Omega Sound in Philadelphia. And there it might have ended had producer John “the Monster” Davis not liked it so much, he booked time at legendary Philly studio Sigma Sound. Davis—who in addition to being front man for disco band the Monster Orchestra was also a member in good standing (keyboards being his thing) of the MFSB studio group that gave us “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)”—originally wanted raunch, but wisely changed his mind, opting instead for a soul groove so relaxed and proto-Yacht Rock smooth you practically dissolve into the song.
Other mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers also played at the session, including guitarists Norman Harris and Bobby Eli, drummer Earl Young, vibraphonist Vince “The Godfather of Disco” Montana, and percussionist Larry Washington. The latter two are responsible for the percolating cool feel of the song. But Davis’ organ is integral as well.
I’ve been unable to find a copy of DeVaughn’s original 1972 demo “A Cadillac Don’t Come Easy,” but I have a hard time imagining it was, as it stood, hit material. What makes “Be Thankful for What You Got (Pt. 1& Pt. 2)” so perfect is the way MFSB creates the perfect smooth backdrop for a DeVaughn vocal performance that is pure hot-buttered soul.
Rule One: Never, ever, listen to the abridged single version. Okay, so it’s still brilliant, DeVaughn makes sure of that, but what REALLY makes the song is the cool build of the extended version, which opens with bongos, a sustained organ riff, some really happening guitar work, some mega-cool vibes, and DeVaughn’s preaching and testifying. This shit is so soothing, they should play it in psych wards.
DeVaughn delivers, over and over, one of the greatest series of lines ever uttered by a human being—”Diamond in the back, sunroof top, diggin’ the scene with a gangster lean.” I love those lines so much I think they should be engraved on stone tablets in every public square in our benighted nation, but the greatest thing about DeVaughn’s celebration of the gangster ride is that you don’t need it! So what if you don’t have a Caddy with a diamond cut-out in the back of the sunroof? So what if you don’t own a Caddy with “gangster whitewalls and TV antennas in the back”? Gangster whitewalls can’t bring you happiness, and DeVaughn’s message is to be grateful for what you got.
I think we can safely assume that DeVaughn never owned the ride he’s singing about—the guy took public transportation! Which makes DeVaughn a guy who practices what he preaches, and it’s apparent just listening to him.
Quick aside—DeVaughn is generally thought of as a one-hit wonder, but “Blood Is Thicker than Water,” which includes two, count ‘em two, great electric guitar solos, also charted and is a more than decent follow-up to “Be Thankful for What You Got.” It also includes an extended vibraphone workout that almost makes me change my mind about that devilish instrument. Great song.
MFSB, working in conjunction with the Gamble and Huff production team and producer/arranger Thom Bell, backed up the likes of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O’Jays, the Stylistics, the Spinners, Wilson Pickett, and Billy Paul. Still, for my money, the only song they performed on that rivals “Be Grateful for What You Got” is Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes’ “Wake Up Everybody.” Relaxed on this one, they’re not. This is disco out of a bazooka and a declaration of war, thanks in large part to the astoundingly urgent vocal performance by the great Teddy Pendergrass.
I stand by what I said earlier—DeVaughn’s salute to the Gettolac isn’t just land barge gold—it’s the finest song ever written about America’s favorite mode of transportation. And the cool part? DeVaughn never gets behind the wheel. He just does the gangster lean, because he understood the true meaning of status—it’s all about being seen. But he takes it a step further. You don’t even need to be seen doing the gangster lean on your superfine ghetto machine. You’re beautiful just the way you are.
Better than Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers’ “Roadrunner”! Better than Prince’s “Little Red Corvette”! Better than Bruce Springsteen’s “State Trooper,” and Larry Wallis’ “Police Car”! And have I mentioned it’s better even than Sammy Johns’ “Chevy Van”?
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A+
