Rolling Stone magazine released its list of the 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time on September 24, 2024. The soundtrack to Rockers and The Harder They Come made the list. 1973 saw the release of The Harder They Come album, which came one year after the highly anticipated film of the same name. It comes in third place, after The Beatles’ Help and Purple Rain.
Rockers’ 1979 soundtrack is ranked #52. The Harder They Come soundtrack, which mostly consists of songs by the film’s star Jimmy Cliff, contributed to the global introduction of reggae. The title track, “Many Rivers to Cross,” “Sitting in Limbo,” “You Can Get It if You Really Want,” and “Wonderful World, Beautiful People” are all performed by Cliff.
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Additional tracks on the soundtrack include “Johnny Too Bad” by The Slickers, “Desmond Dekker and The Aces’ 007 (Shanty Town),” “Draw Your Brakes” by Scotty, “Rivers of Babylon” by The Melodians, and “Sweet and Dandy” by The Maytals.
The Billboard 200 Albums chart saw the soundtrack album peak at position #140.
After being chosen for preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2021, the record was recognized by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Several well-known reggae artists and performers were included in Rockers, including Big Youth, Dillinger, Jacob Miller, Burning Spear, drummer Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, and Gregory Isaacs. 1978 saw the premiere of the movie, which was directed by American Theodoros Bafaloukos.
The soundtrack was compiled by Chris Blackwell.
The tracks “Fade Away” by Junior Byles, “Slave Master” by Gregory Isaacs, “Jah No Dread” by Burning Spear, “Tenement Yard” by Jacob Miller, “Stepping Razor” by Peter Tosh, and “Police and Thieves” by Junior Murvin are among those included on the Rockers soundtrack.
