Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 100 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, representing a varied cross-section of films and musical genres. Click “Next Soundtrack” below to explore each soundtrack in the list or for easier navigation, view the full introduction & soundtrack index here.
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song
Stax (1971)
Selected by Jesse Ducker
Considered the first Blaxploitation flick ever to grace the screen, the independently-financed Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song was raw, confrontational, inflammatory, and, above all, revolutionary. So it made sense the director Melvin Van Peebles decided to push the boundaries with its soundtrack. In a bold marketing move, Peebles got Stax Records to put out the soundtrack before the film, to further promote the movie’s release. The tactic worked, but the soundtrack works on its own as well.
Peebles couldn’t afford a composer, so he wrote the score himself (despite not knowing how to read or write music). He enlisted then little-known band Earth, Wind & Fire to perform what he composed. The soundtrack itself is like a fever dream, made up of free-jazz infused funk, gospel, and passages of dialogue from the film. Like watching the film Sweetback, listening to the soundtrack can be disorienting, but worth the effort.
LISTEN & WATCH: