ROCKY’S PANDEMIC PLAYLIST, PART 15

THE HARDER THEY COME

Jimmy Cliff, 1972. When reggae comes to mind, everyone thinks of the great Bob Marley. But it was Jimmy Cliff who introduced reggae to the world with the soundtrack of “The Harder They Come,” a Jamaican crime film in which he also starred. Cliff’s angelic voice made him a star in Jamaica at early on, recording his first hit “Hurricane Hattie” at age 14. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

PRESSURE DROP

Toots and the Maytals, 1970. Toots Hibbert and his band The Maytals were early purveyors of Jamaican ska and rocksteady, coming together in the early ’60s and helping coin the term reggae on their 1968 single “Do the Reggay.” Toots came to international attention when his song of karmic revenge “Pressure Drop” made it on the soundtrack of “The Harder They Come.” At 77, Toots is still recording with a new album “Got to be Tough” due next month.

NO WOMAN NO CRY

Bob Marley and The Wailers, 1974. Marley may not have invented reggae, but he wrote, recorded and performed its best songs. Certainly as a songwriter, he deserves to be recognized on the same level as Bob Dylan. Few songs show off his talent as “No Woman No Cry,” a compassionate ode to Trench Town, the Kingston slum in which he grew up. It first appeared on the “Natty Dread” album, but the most popular version is on 1975’s “Live” LP. “Everything’s gonna be all right.”

LEGALIZE IT

Peter Tosh, 1974. Peter Tosh was the original bass player for The Wailers and co-wrote “Get Up Stand Up” with Bob Marley. He left for a solo career in 1974 as Marley became the band’s dominant force. His first solo LP was “Legalize It” with its memorable title track. When I first saw Tosh perform at Toronto’s Convocation Hall in 1979, he lit up a spliff the size of a Churchill cigar on the stage of the hallowed university meeting place. He meant what he sang.

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW

Johnny Nash, 1972. Johnny Nash was one of the first American artists to adopt the reggae beat. The Texas-born singer began recording R&B in the late ’50s and moved to Jamaica in 1965 where he collaborated with Marley and other rocksteady artists. In 1971, Nash scored a U.K. hit with his cover of Marley’s “Stir It Up.” He’ll always be remembered, though, for his No. 1 U.S. hit “I Can See Clearly Now” (covered in 1993 by Jimmy Cliff for the “Cool Runnings” soundtrack).