The soundtracks to The Harder They Come and Rockers have made Rolling Stone magazine’s 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, which was released on September 24.

The Harder They Come soundtrack was released in 1973, one year after the sensational movie of the same name. It ranks at #3 behind Purple Rain and Help by The Beatles.

Rockers’ soundtrack, released in 1979, is #52.

Featuring songs mainly from Jimmy Cliff, the movie’s star, The Harder They Come soundtrack helped introduce reggae to a global audience. Cliff performs the title song,
Many Rivers to Cross, Sitting in Limbo, You Can Get It if You Really Want and
Wonderful World, Beautiful People.

Other songs on the soundtrack are Draw Your Brakes by Scotty, Rivers of Babylon by The Melodians, Sweet and Dandy by The Maytals, 007 (Shanty Town) by Desmond Dekker and The Aces, Johnny Too Bad by The Slickers.

The soundtrack album peaked at #140 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart.

In 2021, the album was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

Rockers starred a number of leading reggae musicians and artistes including drummer Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs, Big Youth, Dillinger and Jacob Miller. The film was directed by American Theodoros Bafaloukos and released in 1978.

Chris Blackwell was responsible for the soundtrack compilation.

Songs on the Rockers soundtrack include 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.

Other soundtracks which made the Rolling Stone list include The Bodyguard at #101,
Do The Right Thing (#98), Footloose (#93), Top Gun (#82), Beverly Hills Cop (#79),
Dirty Dancing (#74), Flashdance (#64), Waiting to Exhale (#27), and Saturday Night Fever (#5).