Playlist Help: Reggae Songs from Rock Artists

Helping readers craft the perfect playlist one song at a time

Welcome to Playlist Help, a monthly series where I help one of my readers construct a playlist that must fit a very specific set of rules. This month’s playlist came from Marc:

I want to make a playlist of songs by artists playing reggae that aren't usually associated with the genre. Some examples might include “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da” by The Beatles, “One Belief Away” by Bonnie Raitt, “Watching the Detectives” by Elvis Costello, and “This Must Be the Place” by the Talking Heads. Are there any others?

I think I can help with this, Marc. If you’re reading this and you need playlist help, click the button below and tell me about it. If your request is selected, you’ll get free access to the premium tier of this newsletter for a month.

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I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with non-reggae artists making reggae. The love comes from the fact that I’m fascinated by the trend. Why did Billy Joel, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and a bunch of other white guys insist on making reggae songs right around the same time? But more importantly — and here’s where the hate comes in — why did many of these songs stink?

I don’t have an answer to these questions, but I enjoyed putting this playlist together. Furthermore, I was happy to learn during this process that Billy Joel originally recorded “Only the Good Die Young” as a reggae song. The only reason the piano man switched course was because his drummer Liberty Devito said, “Ugh, I frigging hate reggae! The closest you’ve ever been to Jamaica is when you changed trains in Queens.” Anyway, here’s the playlist. I made it on Spotify, but if you use a different service, I recommend using Soundiiz to transfer it over.