10. 'Marcus Garvey,' Burning Spear
The Rastafarian teaching is built, at least in part, upon the beliefs and teachings of Marcus Garvey, the 20th century black nationalist Jamaican who prophesized that the "day of deliverance" for Africans all over the world would come with the coronation of a black king in Africa. When Haile Selassie (AKA Ras Tafari Makonnen) was crowned king of Ethiopia in 1930, people took notice--and a religion was born. This 1975 classic from award-winning, but still strangely under-appreciated Burning Spear, is perhaps the most stirring celebration of Garvey's life, and, more importantly, a somber reminder of how far Africans have to go to realize his dream.
9. 'I Am The Upsetter,' Lee "Scratch" Perry
Before Lee "Scratch" Perry was known more for his sometimes disturbing, ahem, "eccentricity," he was famed primarily for being the producer behind Bob Marley & The Wailers' biggest reggae hits--and for having a uniquely mellifluous voice. Nowhere is that more evident than on this beautiful track from "The Upsetter" himself.
8. 'Satta Massagana' The Abyssinians
Few opening sequences in all of music are quite as instantly recognizable as the lilting, soulful horn section lifting the curtain on this classic piece. What follows, of course, is some of the quintessentially rich vocal harmonies that became The Abyssinians' trademark. They may not be as universally famous as some other people on this list, but with a simple 4-note leitmotif, The Abyssinians permanently laid their footprint on the landscape of not only reggae, but on all of popular music.
7. 'Small Axe,' Bob Marley and The Wailers
Try as you might, it's virtually impossible to have any conversation about the best reggae songs without coming back to the man who singlehandedly made the genre what it is today. And while Bob Marley's list of unforgettable songs is inexhaustibly long, one of his most influential and most subtly powerful works is this beauty off of his seminal 'African Herbsman' album. Marley and the Wailers take a simple Jamaican proverb, and masterfully combine it with Biblical teachings to sound the alarm to the rest of the world. Although Marley's reference to the "Big tree" is likely a veiled cut at the "Big Three" record companies that dominated the Jamaican landscape at the time, the overall message is much more obvious: within any "small axe" lies the undying potential to cut down a big tree, and change the world.
6. 'Police and Thieves,' Junior Murvin
Sure, The Clash may have made this song the punk rock anthem that it still is today, but much to the surprise of many, the original was the work of Junior Murvin, and Scratch Perry, who teamed up to pen the seminal tune back in 1976. With Murvin's unmistakable falsetto, the song doesn't seem nearly as aggressive or revolutionary as the rendition that The Clash cooked up a few years later. But this song undeniably planted the emotive seeds of an entire generation, and harkened the unlikely marriage between disenchanted British punk rockers, and disempowered Jamaican musicians.
5. 'Pressure Drop,' Toots and The Maytals
Having an avalanche of pressure drop on your shoulders has never sounded quite so...carefree. In this irresistibly catchy paean, Toots and his Maytals use few words, and even fewer chords to paint a picture of an existence in which hardship and pain are constants--and in which both fold helplessly in the face of music. The song, in fact, was significantly popularized by its appearance in the classic film, 'The Harder They Come,' in which a down-on-his-luck Jimmy Cliff struggles to dig his way out of the ghetto, and attain stardom. All this, of course, is to seamlessly segue to...
4. 'The Harder They Come,' Jimmy Cliff
It's exceedingly difficult to separate this timeless piece from the equally groundbreaking film of the same name. The message of the song isn't drastically different from 'Small Axe.' Undercurrents of redemption, and ultimate glory in the face of tyranny and oppression stream through each chord, and each inflection in Cliff's voice. The contextual backdrop, though, is what ultimately makes this reggae song so revolutionary. As the lead track on the soundtrack of the very first Jamaican produced feature length film, Cliff's inspirational tale of triumph in the most dire of circumstances signaled a new era of popular reggae culture. And ushered in the true globalization of the genre that Marley initially set in motion.
3. 'African,' Peter Tosh
Mutter the name Peter Tosh to most people, and they'll likely instantly come back with some reference to 'Legalize It,' the former Wailer's most well-known single. But if you're looking for the one Tosh tune that exemplifies everything reggae stands for, look no further than 'African,' his jovial call for pan-Africanism, and international black brotherhood. Written in 1977, not long after Tosh left the Wailers, the song assures and inspires Africans of all nations that no matter how divisive or combative the battlefields of freedom may be, there will always be something greater, and an international family whose binds must never break.
2. 'Israelites,' Desmond Dekker and The Aces
As you've probably noticed by this point, reggae is nothing if the music of struggle. It's the music that perpetually beats on, even as the whirlwind storm of discriminatory politics, hate, and poverty swirls around us. Nowhere, nowhere is this constituent spirit more completely embodied than in 'Israelites.' Dekker and The Aces take barely 2 minutes to paint a searingly timeless analogy between the collective plight of Africans all over the world, and the daily struggle of the expulsed, nomadic Israelites of Biblical lore. Perhaps no song has ever summed up the doldrums of everyday hardship than this euphonic tune.
1. 'Stir it Up,' Bob Marley and The Wailers
Was there really any doubt as to who would be seated atop the 10 best reggae songs? Quite simply, without the revolutionary genius of Robert Nesta Marley, reggae (and the world) would not be what it is today. To be honest, we could've crowned any of Bob's eternally ageless works as the number one reggae song of all-time. But in the end, we decided to go with his most indelible, and most universally adored numbers. Why? Essentially, because of this bassline, and the way it burrows its way into your cortex the minute you hear it--not, because, of any technical virtuosity, or mind blowing orchestral wizardry. No, that's not what real reggae is about. Real reggae is about simplicity, about taking two or three simple chords, putting them together and then baring your soul over them. And that's exactly what this song is about. The track's message isn't overtly political. It won't be the song that inspires the downtrodden as some of the others on this list may. But it is an unadulterated and stripped down celebration of life, and of love, and a warm reminder of the immense joy and happiness that one man and his bassline can bring to the world. And if, 100 years from now, our great-great grandchildren ask us to tell them what reggae music really is, we would hand them this song--and let them feel for themselves.
