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I Want to Take You Higher

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"I Want to Take You Higher"
side-B label
Side B of the US single
Single by Sly and the Family Stone
from the album Stand!
A-side"Stand!"
ReleasedMarch 1969 (B-side)
March 1970 (A-side)
Recorded1969
Genre
Length5:23
2:55 (single version)
LabelEpic
5-10450
Songwriter(s)Sly Stone
Producer(s)Sly Stone
Sly and the Family Stone singles chronology
"Everyday People" / "Sing a Simple Song"
(1968) 		"Stand!" / "I Want to Take You Higher"
(1969) 		"Hot Fun in the Summertime"
(1969)

"I Want to Take You Higher" is a song by the soul/rock/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, the B-side to their top 30 hit "Stand!". Unlike most of the other tracks on the Stand! album, "I Want to Take You Higher" is not a message song; instead, it is simply dedicated to music and the feeling one gets from music. Like nearly all of Sly & the Family Stone's songs, Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart was credited as the sole songwriter.[3]

Composition

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"I Want to Take You Higher" opens with a bluesy guitar riff played by Freddie Stone. The song, one of the most upbeat recordings in the Family Stone canon, is a remake of sorts of "Higher", a song from the band's 1968 Dance to the Music LP. "Higher" itself has its origins in "Advice", a song Sly Stone co-wrote and arranged for Billy Preston's album The Wildest Organ in Town in 1966.

Performances

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"Higher" made the setlist for the band's performance at Woodstock alongside "Dance to the Music" and "Music Lover"; Sly Stone used the song during a memorable interlude, during which he had the Woodstock crowd repeating, at three in the morning, the song's frantic cry of "higher!".

Sly & the Family Stone performed a medley of "Dance to the Music" and "I Want to Take You Higher" on Soul Train on June 29, 1974.[4]

Chart performance

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Even though it was a B-side, "I Want to Take You Higher" became a top 40 hit (No. 38) of its own in 1970. That same year, Ike & Tina Turner released a cover of the song that became a hit as well, peaking above the original Family Stone recording on the Billboard Hot 100 (at No. 34), and one position below the original on the R&B singles chart.

Legacy

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The song was featured prominently in the classic Canadian children's show Hilarious House of Frightenstein. It was the theme song for the Wolfman character.

From May 10, 1997 through February 28, 1998, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum presented their first temporary exhibit entitled I Want to Take You Higher: The Psychedelic Era 1965-1969,[5] timed to correspond with the 30th anniversary of the Summer of Love. It opened with a day-long outdoor festival MC'd by Chet Helms that drew thousands to the Museum's plaza, featuring Big Brother and the Holding Company, Country Joe McDonald, and Donovan, with guests Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters (complete with the Further Bus). It accompanied the publishing of a book of the same name in 1997 (Chronicle Books) documenting the exhibit and the period. The last day featured an appearance by sixties icons Wavy Gravy and Paul Krassner, provided by the Cleveland-based group ACE.

In March 2005, Q magazine placed "I Want to Take You Higher" at No. 84 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

In 2008, Backbeat Books published the biography I Want to Take You Higher: The Life and Times of Sly & the Family Stone, by Jeff Kaliss, featuring a foreword and the first interview in twenty-one years with Sly Stone.[6]

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart (1969–1970) Peak
position
Canada (RPM 100)[7] 24
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 38
US Billboard R&B[9] 24

Ike & Tina Turner version

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"I Want to Take You Higher"
German picture sleeve
Single by Ike & Tina Turner & the Ikettes
from the album Come Together
B-side"Contact High"
ReleasedMay 1970
Recorded1970
GenreSoul, funk rock
Length2:51
LabelLiberty Records
Songwriter(s)Sly Stone
Producer(s)Ike Turner
Ike & Tina Turner singles chronology
"Come Together"
(1969) 		"I Want to Take You Higher"
(1970) 		"Workin' Together"
(1970)
The Ikettes singles chronology
"Make 'Em Wait"
(1968) 		"I Want to Take You Higher"
(1970) 		"Got What It Takes (To Get What I Want)"
(1971)

In 1970, Ike & Tina Turner released a cover of "I Want to Take You Higher" which was also credited to the Ikettes. It was a top 40 hit, peaking at No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 25 on the Billboard R&B chart.[10]

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1970) Peak
position
Canada (RPM 100)[11] 36
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 34
US Billboard R&B[13] 25
US Cash Box Top 100[14] 42
US Cash Box Top 50 R&B[15] 21
US Record World 100 Top Pops[16] 63
US Record World Top 50 R&B[17] 24

Year-end charts

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Chart (1970) Rank
US Billboard Hot 100 singles[18] 79

Other versions

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References

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  1. ^ Harrison, James (2015). "Sly & The Family Stone - "I Want to Take You Higher". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. New York: Universe. p. 248.
  2. ^ Molanphy, Chris (October 15, 2022). "Give Up the Funk Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  3. ^ Henke, James; Charles Perry; Barry Miles (1997). I Want to Take You Higher. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-1700-8.
  4. ^ The Best of Soul Train Live (booklet). Time Life. 2011.
  5. ^ I Want to Take You Higher: The Psychedelic Era 1965-1969, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum website.
  6. ^ Kaliss, Jeff (2008). I Want to Take You Higher: The Life and Times of Sly & the Family Stone. New York: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-984-8.
  7. ^ "RPM Weekly Top Singles". Library and Archives Canada. Jul 4, 1970.
  8. ^ "Sly & the Family Stone Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard.
  9. ^ "Sly & The Family Stone Chart History - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard.
  10. ^ "I Want to Take You Higher (song by Ike & Tina Turner) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". www.musicvf.com. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  11. ^ "RPM Weekly Top Singles". Library and Archives Canada. Sep 13, 1970.
  12. ^ "Ike & Tina Turner Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard.[dead link‍]
  13. ^ "Ike & Tina Turner Chart History - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard.[dead link‍]
  14. ^ "Cash Box Top 100" (PDF). Cash Box: 4. September 5, 1970.
  15. ^ "Top 50 In R&B Locations" (PDF). Cash Box: 39. June 27, 1970.
  16. ^ "Record World 100 Top Pops" (PDF). Record World: 25. June 20, 1970.
  17. ^ "Record World R&B Top 50 R&B" (PDF). Record World: 31. July 4, 1970.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1970".
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