William DeVaughn
William DeVaughn (* 1947 in Washington, DC ) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist whose style is strongly reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield . He became famous for his hit Be Thankful For What You Got (Diamond In The Back) .
Life
DeVaughn worked as an administrative clerk and part-time as an entertainer. He paid the Omega Studio in Philadelphia to record Be Thankful For What You Got . The Phillysound group MFSB also took part in the recording session . Omega Studio owner Frank Fioravanti was impressed and arranged for Roxbury Records to release the title.
The recording sold nearly two million copies after its release in the spring of 1974. It was number 1 on the American R&B chart and number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Be Thankful For What You Got was sampled and covered numerous times later, including by Massive Attack and several rap artists.
Shortly after the first hit success, DeVaughn released an album. His second single, Blood Is Thicker Than Water , hit the top ten on the US R&B charts. A short time later, DeVaughn retired from the music business. In 1980, however, it reached the hit lists again with the title "Figures Can't Calculate". In 2004 he released the single I Came Back on his own label Mighty Two Diamond Records.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1974 | Be Thankful for What You Got | - |
US165 (11 weeks) US |
First published: 1974
|
More publishments:
- 1980: Figures Can't Calculate
- 2008: Time Will Stand Still
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1974 | Be Thankful for What You Got Be Thankful for What You Got |
UK31 (10 weeks) UK |
US4 (18 weeks) US |
First published: March 1974
|
| Blood is Thicker than Water Be Thankful for What You Got |
- |
US43 (9 weeks) US |
First published: August 1974
|
|
Web links
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | DeVaughn, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American singer, songwriter and guitarist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Washington, DC , United States |