Nearly nine minutes long on the album version, it was released as a single in the United States, but failed to chart.
An edited version of the song spent 10 weeks in the top 50 of the UK Singles Chart in 1971, peaking at number 12, and it has become a soul classic over the years.
In 1979, disco trio Destination recorded a medley, incorporating "Keep On Pushing", a 1964 hit by the Impressions, also written by Mayfield.
[10] Just Blaze heavily sampled the song for Kanye West's 2006 single "Touch the Sky", using a slowed-down version of the horns.
[13] English football club Arsenal adopted the song as a popular post-game anthem at their Emirates Stadium.