Top 25 most used riddims of the 1970s

The Stalag Riddim was created in 1973 by Winston Riley. It was named after the 1953 war film "Stalag 17". After the original performance by Ansell Collins, the riddim was used a lot of times.

Some well known examples are Sister Nancy's 1982 hit "Bam Bam" and Tenor Saw's 1985 hit "Ring The Alarm".

The origins of the Taxi Riddim can be traced back to the 1930 Cuban Song "El Manisero" (or "The Peanut Vendor" in English), by Don Azpiazú and His Havana Casino Orchestra. It was made into a riddim in 1975 by the brothers Maurice and Melvin Jackson. The first sing using the riddim was "Prophecy" by Little Roy.

Later examples of the riddim are a 1989 version by Steely & Clevie and a 2007 version by Sly & Robbie.

The original version of the Storm Riddim was a 1977 song called "Storm" by Gregory Isaacs. The other examples are a 1991 version by King Jammy and a 1995 version by The Firehouse Crew.

Rolando Alphonso's 1973 "Jah Shakey" was the first tune on the Far East Riddim, produced by Coxsone Dodd.

The riddim was known as the Jah Shakey Riddim, and for a while as the Rockers Hop Riddim, until the 1978 hit "Far East" by Barry Brown. Another example is "Oppressors Oppression", performed in 1979 by Sugar Minott.

The story behind the Satta Massagana Riddim is a remarkable one. Its original tune by The Abyssinians was recorded in 1969 by Coxsone Dodd at Studio One. Coxsone Dodd didn't like it though, and decided not to release it. The Abyssinians recorded some other works and used the money to buy the master recording of Satta Massagana from Studio One. They released it themselves in 1971 and it turned out to be an enormous success.

There have been a lot of different versions of this riddim. For example a 1975 version by Augustus Pablo and a 1998 version by Screwdriver.

Cherry Oh Baby was Eric Donaldson's song that won the 1971 Jamaican Festival Song Competition.

The Cherry Oh Baby Riddim was used lots of times, for example by UB40 in 1983 and by Shaka Samba in 1992.

Yet another Studio One riddim. The first song on the Things And Time Riddim was performed by The Wailing Souls in 1970, and it was called "Back Out With It". The Wailing Souls recorded another song over a Channel One version of the riddim in 1974, called "Things And Time". This would give the riddim its current name.

A different example of the riddim is the 1999 version created by Donovan Germain.

The He Prayed Riddim was created by Coxsone Dodd in 1972, the first release being "Joe Frazier (He Prayed)" by Burning Spear and Morris Toughest.

One year later, Lee Scratch Perry made a version of the riddim. Dillinger's "Dub Organiser" proved to be a big hit over this riddim. Another example is the 1997 version of the riddim by Bobby Digital.

The first tune on the No Warrior Riddim was actually the 1979 tune "The Raiders" by Junior Delgado. Because the chorus contained the catchy "We No Want No Warrior", the tune and the riddim were better known as "No Warrior". In 1986, Junior Delgado re-recorded the tune over a digital version of the riddim by King Jammy.

Another well known version is "Father Jungle Rock", recorded by Nicodemus in 1982.

The A Love I Can Feel Riddim is another Studio One creation. Its first use was John Holt's 1970 "A Love I Can Feel".

Other great examples are Beres Hammond with "Tempted To Touch" over a 1991 version of the riddim created by Donovan Germain & Dave Kelly, and Jennifer Lara's "Touch Me All Over", using a 1992 version of the riddim by King Jammy.

The story behind the Youthman Riddim is a tragic one. The riddim was created in 1977 by Glen Brown and its first tune was "Wicked Can't Run Away" by Glenroy Richards.

Just a couple of months later, on January 5th 1978, Glenroy Richards, amongst 4 others, lost his life in the Green Bay massacre. The 5 men were lured to the Green Bay Firing Range, ambushed, and shot to death by the Jamaica Defence Force.

Tappa Zukie recorded "Green Bay Murder" over the riddim to protest the controversial event. The riddim became popular known as the Green Bay Killing Riddim. It got his current name in 1979 after Wayne Jarrett's hit "Youthman".

The Operation Radication Riddim was created in 1975 by Lloyd Campbell. Its original tune is "Won't You Come Home" by Ronnie Davis. 1982 saw the release of the tune that gave the riddim the its name; "Operation Radication" by Yellowman & Fathead.

Another example is "Stay Strong" by Turbulence & Jahmali, using a 2004 version of the riddim called the Dis Ya Time Riddim, created by Bost & Bim.

The Freedom Blues Riddim was created in 1970 by Coxsone Dodd. It was first used for "Freedom Blues" by Roy Richards.

Tappa Zukie had his own version of the riddim in 1976, for his tune "M.P.L.A.". Another example is the 1994 version by Phillip Burrell.

The Heathen Riddim was created in 1977 by Bob Marley & The Wailers. It was first used for "The Heathen" and released on their "Exodus" album. Then it was quiet around the riddim for a while, but 1996 saw an explosion of versions of the riddim by different producers.

The first example below is "Heart Of A Lion" by Shabba Ranks, over a version of the Heathen Riddim made by Bobby Digital. The second one is "Build Up Africa" by Vivian Jones, over a Barry O'Hare version of the riddim.

The Weather Balloon Riddim is a 1978 creation by U Brown. The original tune was "Weather Balloon", performed by U Brown himself.

The other highlights are Barry Brown's 1981 hit "Love Love Love" and Queen Omega's "We Can Do Better".

The Mr. Bassie Riddim is a 1971 Studio One riddim. The first tune released on it was "Mr. Bassie" by Horace Andy.

Other examples of this riddim are Barrington Levy's "Teach The Youths" and Luciano's "Blast Off Go A Moon".

Coxsone Dodd created the College Rock Riddim in 1972 for Big Willie's "College Rock".

U Brown's "Mr. Music Man" was a big hit on the riddim in 1978. Another great example is "Stop The Blood Shed" by Yami Bolo.

The Ballistic Affair Riddim was created in 1976 by Jo Jo Hookim, for Leroy Smart's hit "Ballistic Affair".

There have been a lot of different versions in the following year, including Dennis Brown's "You Don't Love Me" and Carlton Livingston's "Rasta Corner".

The Declaration Of Rights Riddim was created in 1976 by Coxsone Dodd for a tune called "Declaration Of Rights", performed by The Abyssinians. In the same year, Bunny Striker Lee created his version of the riddim for a cover of that song by Johnny Clarke.

A lot of different versions of the riddim where created over the years, one of the most recent ones being a 2007 version.

The Java Riddim was created in 1971 by Clive Chin and Augustus Pablo. The first tune was "Java" by Augustus Pablo. 1973 saw the release of "Hospital Trolley" by I-Roy over the same version of the riddim.

An example of a more recent version of the riddim is the 2003 version created by Bobby Digital.

The Skylarking Riddim was originally used for Horace Andy's 1972 song "Skylarking". After that it was used for a lot of other songs, including Tappa Zukie's "Stop The Gun Shooting" and Anthony Malvo's "Dancehall Fever".

The first usage of the Talk About Love Riddim was Dennis Alcapone's 1971 "This A Butter". A few years later in 1978 "Talk About Love" by Pat Kelly would determine the name of the riddim. "Nobody" by Da'Ville is a more modern example of the riddim. 

The Sweets For My Sweet Riddim is based on the 1961 R&B song "Sweets For My Sweet" by The Drifters. The first tune on the riddim is "Sweets For My Sweet" by Delroy Wilson, released in 1975.

The other examples are "Sweets For My Sweet" by Super Cat, released in 1987, and the "Nice Up The Party" by Christopher Martin.

The first tune on the 1972 Fever Riddim was "Fever" by Horace Andy. Examples of more modern versions of the riddim are "Love Fever" by Mad Cobra and "Mama Pray" by General Smiley & Sound Dimension.

The Black Cinderella Riddim was created in 1972 by Jimmy Radway. Its first tune was "Black Cinderella" by Errol Dunkley.

Other examples of this riddim are "Black Cinderella" by Dennis Brown and "My Black Queen" by Ginjah.