The song was written by Stax Records singer Luther Ingram and house songwriter Mack Rice. Ingram, who was frustrated with the state of the world at the time, told Rice "black folk need to learn to respect themselves." Rice liked the comment so much that he built a funk groove around it, prepared a demo record, and suggested to record producerAl Bell that the Staple Singers record it. The group agreed.[2]
In 1984, English pop band the Kane Gang covered the song for their 1985 debut album The Bad and Lowdown World of the Kane Gang. Produced by Pete Wingfield and the band, it was released as the third single from the album. This version charted at number 19 in Australia[7] and number 21 in the UK.[8] The Kane Gang's version changes the lyric "If you don't give a heck about the man with the Bible in his hands" to "If you don't give a damn about the man with the Bible in his hands".
In 1986, American actor Bruce Willis (as his fictitious alter-ego Bruno Radolini) began a short-lived singing career. Willis covered "Respect Yourself" for his 1987 album The Return of Bruno, a companion to the HBO special of the same name, which aired shortly after the album's release. Willis' version was released in December 1986 as his debut single, and is based on the Kane Gang's version, sped up a bit. It also features backing vocals by the Pointer Sisters; June Pointer also sings a verse. It was produced by Robert Kraft, and charted in four different countries.
In 1995, English singer Robert Palmer covered the song as a non-album single. Palmer's version reached number 45 in the UK[18] and number 170 in Australia.
