When Stars Try Reggae: A Weekend Playlist

Reggae’s easy to love. Maybe too easy. Maybe too easy to love to death. The lilt, the bounce, the weed: for as long as reggae has existed, many a pop star has seen reggae as the perfect way to inject a shot of mid-to-late-career uplift, assuming that because reggae’s vibe is so laid-back, it must be easy to reproduce. The results have varied wildly in terms of quality and commitment.

For this list, I’m leaving out covers of existing reggae songs (Eric Clapton, Blondie), artists who were into reggae before their recording careers (The Clash, Beastie Boys), or acts who built their whole careers on some kind of reggae-pop fusion (The Police, Lily Allen). Here are 12 stars who made their name with some other kind of music before dipping a toe into warmier Caribbean waters (also compiled in a YouTube playlist to maintain the vibes, such as they are).

Paul Simon - “Mother and Child Reunion” (1972)
OK, I’m not a Paul Simon fan, and on the face of it, the idea of him doing reggae sounds, frankly, terrible. But he did it early and he did it right: recording in Jamaica with Jimmy Cliff’s backing band, writing an actual song with strong melodies and emotional punch, and singing it in his regular voice rather than fake-patois. In spite of myself, this is a good one.

Wings - “C Moon” (1972)
The Beatles, of course, pioneered “going Jamaican” with “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La,Da” in 1968, a song I love no matter what people say. Four years later, Paul’s discovered spacious dub-style production, but otherwise it’s a step backwards. He stretches a flimsy hook into the kind of nagging trifle you’d expect from a Wings b-side.

Led Zeppelin - “D’yer Mak’er” (1973)
Another one I feel like I shouldn’t like, but… it’s so goofy, especially that little Jimmy Page guitar curl, that I can’t help but forgive John Bonham’s ham-fisted drumming and Robert Plant’s making-it-up-on-the-spot moaning.

10cc - “Dreadlock Holiday” (1978)
The touchy racial politics of white millionaires playing the music of the Jamaican underclass get even touchier with this tale of an encounter with that underclass. After being shaken down for his jewelry, the protagonist tries to bond with his muggers over a shared love of cricket and reggae. I think the kids would call this “problematic” these days.

Stevie Wonder - “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” (1980)
Stevie Wonder had been aware of reggae for years, recording “Boogie On Reggae Woman” in 1974. He played a massive stadium show in Jamaica in 1975 with the Wailers, where he was joined for an encore by Bob Marley. The two later toured together. Stevie handles this Marley tribute with the same sensitivity, soul, and poise as the rest of his peak-career music - this is one of the few pop-star reggae attempts that got any play in Jamaica.

Rolling Stones - “Send It to Me” (1980)
The Stones are also longtime reggae dabblers, recording in Jamaica in 1973, where Keith Richards had a house, and collaborating with Peter Tosh. This is probably the track that comes closest to what you might imagine “the Rolling Stones playing reggae” sounds like.

Prince - “Blue Light” (1992)
No surprise that a musical omnivore like Prince would try reggae - the only surprise is that it took him so long. Here he pours a warm bath of saxophone over a reggae pulse to let us know what hue of illumination he prefers while getting freaky.

David Lee Roth - “No Big 'Ting” (1994)
I’m sorry, but everyone should hear this once. No less and certainly no more.

Spice Girls - “Walk of Life” (1997)
So much of reggae is about the producers, whether we’re talking about pop approximations of reggae or the real thing. The Spice Girls’ production team, Absolute, knew their stuff, so “Walk of Life” is reasonably credible pop-reggae, and more listenable than most Spice Girls tunes. That “zinga-zinga-zaa” bit in the middle is rough going, but at least it’s brief.

Willie Nelson - “Darkness on the Face of the Earth” (2005)
Wondering what Willie Nelson and reggae have in common? The gigantic pot leaf on the cover of his 2005 reggae album Countryman answers that question. The intriguing concept didn’t quite jell, with producer Don Was concocting cheesy backing tracks that didn’t give Willie’s subtle vocal rhythms much to grab onto. A few interesting moments illustrate that the country-reggae fusion wasn’t a terrible idea.

Snoop Lion - “Smoke the Weed” (2013)
Snoop Dogg’s rasta transformation was as hyped as it was short-lived. But it actually sounded pretty good, with producer Diplo’s dancehall tracks perfectly suited to Snoop’s smooth delivery.

Katy Perry feat. Skip Marley - “Chained to the Rhythm” (2017)
A reggae lilt remains a useful signifier of pop-star wokeness in 2017, all the more so if you have an actual Marley in tow.

Got a taste for the real thing? Try Reggae Sunsplash: The Festival That Made Jamaica Famous or Beyond the Legend: Bob Marley Deep Cuts .

In the mood for more questionable musical choices? Squirm through My Favorite Songs That Suck or The 10 Weirdest #1 Hits of the 20th Century.

Or splash around in our weekend playlist archive.