Mick Jagger Chooses His Ten Favorite Reggae Songs

Rolling Stones vocalist Mick Jagger has chosen ten of his favorite reggae songs, flying his Rastafarian flag sky
high. During a playlist special feature in Rolling Stone, Jagger claims that he and Charlie Watts were the first Stones to become entranced.

"We were interested from a rhythmic point of view, so we started to play reggae beats, and the rest of them picked it up." He adds, with a devious chuckle, "I'm sure Keith (Richards) would say something different."

Though the glimmer twins may disagree on who found it first, there is no denying that the Stones have been heavily influenced by Jamaican dance music. Go ahead, spin the underrated 1976 'Black And Blue' record and you'll hears some legitimate Stones-washed reggae beats, particularly during their cover of Eric Donaldson's 'Cherry Oh Baby.'

In 1978, Jagger teamed up with reggae musician Peter Tosh, once a core member of The Wailers, for a duet on 'You Gotta Walk And Don’t Look Back,' and now he's collaborating with Bob Marley's son Damian in his current group SuperHeavy. So his love for the genre is still burning strong.

In the poll, Jagger details his reasons for selecting the songs that made his final list and the fundamental connections that bind him to the music of the Rastaman. He says the songs offer him good grooves to dance to, hypnotic rhythms, sexy and relaxing elements, great bass lines, the feeling of love and togetherness
and a heavy mixture of mysticism and realism throughout. In other words; it rings of unity, it's the sound of 'one love.'

Mick Jagger's Top Ten Reggae Songs:

01. Bob Marley,  'Get Up,Stand Up / No More Trouble / War' - 1976

02. Peter Tosh, 'Pick Myself Up' - 1978

03. Toots and the Maytals, '54-46' That's My Number' - 1968

04. Dawn Penn, 'You Don't Love Me' - 1967

05. Gregory Isaacs, 'Cream Of The Crop' - 1983

06. Max Romeo And The Upsetters, 'War Ina Babylon' - 1976

07. The Viceroys, 'Brethern And Sisters' - 1983

08. Ronnie Davis, 'Writing On The Wall' - 1983

09. Tenor Saw, 'Ring The Alarm' - 1985

10. Burning Spear, 'Marcus Garvey' - 1975