I Want to Take You Higher

"I Want to Take You Higher"
Side B of the US single
Single by Sly and the Family Stone
from the album Stand!
A-side	"Stand!"
Released	March 1969 (B-side) March 1970 (A-side)
Recorded	1969
Genre	Psychedelic soul [1] psychedelic funk [2]
Length	5:23 2:55 (single version)
Label	Epic 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

"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

"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

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

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

• Sly Stone  : Lead and background vocals, harmonica, keyboard, songwriting & production
• Rose Stone  : Lead and background vocals
• Freddie Stone  : Lead and background vocals, guitar
• Larry Graham  : Lead and background vocals, bass
• Greg Errico : Drums, background vocals
• Jerry Martini : tenor saxophone, background vocals
• Cynthia Robinson : trumpet, background vocals

Charts

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

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".

"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"
Released	May 1970
Recorded	1970
Genre	Soul, funk rock
Length	2:51
Label	Liberty 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)

v t e Sly and the Family Stone
Sly Stone Freddie Stone Rose Stone Cynthia Robinson Greg Errico Jerry Martini Larry Graham Vet Stone Rustee Allen Pat Rizzo Andy Newmark Bill Lordan
Studio albums	A Whole New Thing (1967) Dance to the Music (1968) Life (1968) Stand! (1969) There's a Riot Goin' On (1971) Fresh (1973) Small Talk (1974) Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back (1976) Back on the Right Track (1979) Ain't But the One Way (1982)
Live albums	The Woodstock Experience (2009) Live at the Fillmore East October 4th & 5th, 1968 (2015)
Compilations	Greatest Hits (1970) Different Strokes by Different Folks (2005)
Singles	"Dance to the Music" "Everyday People" "Sing a Simple Song" "Stand!" "I Want to Take You Higher" "Hot Fun in the Summertime" "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" "Everybody Is a Star" "Family Affair" "Runnin' Away" "If You Want Me to Stay"
Related articles	Discography Sly Stone solo discography Little Sister Coming Back for More On the Sly: In Search of the Family Stone Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (book)
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