The song was released in 1971 on the Stax label as a single from Knight's debut album of the same title, and became a big hit in the US, reaching No.

[5] "Mr. Big Stuff" was recorded in 1970 at Malaco Studio in Jackson, Mississippi, at the same session as "Groove Me" by King Floyd.

Both songs are defined by two bar, off-beat bass lines and tight arrangements by Wardell Quezergue.

The song is addressed to an egotistical man, nicknamed Mr. Big Stuff, by an indignant female narrator.

According to Rob Bowman's liner notes from the 1999 box set The Last Soul Company: Malaco, A Thirty Year Retrospective, the musicians for this session included: During this time at Malaco, horn lines were typically played by saxophonist Hugh Garraway and trumpeter Peary Lomax.