Greatest Blaxploitation Soundtrack Songs

"Ain't nobody dope as me, I'm dressed so fresh, so clean
So fresh and so clean, clean"

 

Was enjoying a nice double helping of Pam Grier movies recently, when it got me thinking again at just how insanely good the soundtracks of blaxploitation movies really were. With all honesty, the genre came and went before my time, so they only ever really made it on my radar via the various rap songs that sampled them. I suppose that's how many others from my generartion had also discovered them.

 

Below is a list of fifty choons I feel are the best from the genre. Found keeping it diverse with one track per artist wouldn't really work for me here. The likes of Curtis Mayfield, James Brown and Isaac Hayes must have made a faustian bargain at the crossroads simply based on the high quality of music they produced. It's some of their greatest ever work, in this humble blogger's opinion. 

Some of these soundtracks that I've stumbled upon over the years are from films I still have not seen to this day, since they're still relatively obscure for the most part. Worth noting, bongo obsessive Michael Viner produced the soundtrack for The Thing With Two Heads, which is one of those "music inspired by..." compilations. Can't confirm whether the songs are featured in the film or not, but I do know that the songs are indeed from the soundtrack album, however.

 

Greatest Blaxploitation Soundtrack Songs

Children Don't Get Weary - Booker T & The M.G.'s (Up Tight, 1969)

 Harlem Medley - Galt MacDermot (Cotton Comes To Harlem, 1970)

Call Me Mister Tibbs - Quincy Jones (They Call Me Mr. Tibbs, 1970)

Hoppin' John - Melvin Van Peebles (Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song, 1971)

Theme From Shaft (Vocal) - Isaac Hayes (Shaft, 1971) 

Freddie's Dead - Curtis Mayfield (Superfly, 1972)

Give Me Your Love - Curtis Mayfield (Superfly, 1972)

Superfly - Curtis Mayfield (Superfly, 1972)

Battle Scene - Grant Green (The Final Comedown, 1972)

 Cool Breeze - Solomon Burke (Cool Breeze, 1972)  

"T" Plays It Cool - Marvin Gaye (Trouble Man, 1972)

Across 110th Street - Bobby Womack and Peace (Across 110th Street, 1972)

Little Ghetto Boy - Donny Hathaway (Come Back Charleston Blue, 1972) 

Blacula Strikes! - Gene Page (Blacula, 1972)

Theme From Slaughter - Billy Preston (Slaughter, 1972)

Bongolia - Incredible Bongo Band (The Thing With Two Heads, 1972)

Fool's Paradise - The Sylvers (The Thing With Two Heads, 1972)  

The Payback - James Brown (The Payback, 1973) 

People Get Up And Drive Your Funky Soul - James Brown (Slaughter's Big Rip-Off, 1973)

King George - Roy Ayers (Coffy, 1973) 

Hot Wheels (The Chase) - Badder Than Evil (Gordon's War, 1973)

Can You Dig It? (Working Music) - Don Costa (The Soul Of Ni**er Charley, 1973)

Shaft In Africa (Addis) - Johnny Pate (Shaft In Africa, 1973)

Lay It On Your Head- Don Julian (Savage, 1973)

Theme From Cleopatra Jones - Joe Simon (Cleopatra Jones, 1973)

Mama Feelgood - Lyn Collins and The J.B.'s (Black Caesar, 1973)

The Boss -James Brown (Black Caesar, 1973)

Brothers Gonna Work It Out - Willie Hutch (The Mack, 1973)

Give Me Some Of That Good Old Love - Willie Hutch (Foxy Brown, 1974)

Lialeh - Bernard Pretty Purdie (Lialeh, 1974) 

Theme From Together Brothers - The Love Unlimited Orchestra (Together Brothers, 1974)

Hung Up On My Baby - Isaac Hayes (Tough Guys, 1974)

Run Fay Run - Isaac Hayes (Tough Guys, 1974)

Flashbulbs - Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (The Education Of Sonny Carson, 1974)

Easin' In - Edwin Starr (Hell Up In Harlem, 1974)

Keep On Movin' On - Martha Reeves (Willie Dynamite, 1974)

Parade Strut (Instrumental) - J. J. Johnson (Willie Dynamite, 1974)

Main Theme - Dennis Coffey and Luchi De Jesus (Black Belt Jones, 1974)

Mister Keyes - The Impressions (Three The Hard Way, 1974)

Boss Ni**er - Terrible Tom (Boss Ni**er, 1974)

Main Theme - Johnny Pate (Bucktown, 1975)

Sheba Baby (Vocal) - Monk Higgins & Alex Brown (Sheba Baby, 1975)

Mayor's Get Away - Rudy Ray Moore (Rudy Ray Moore Is "Dolemite", 1975)

Let's Do It Again - The Staple Singers (Let's Do It Again, 1975)

I'm Going Down - Rose Royce (Car Wash, 1976)

Car Wash - Rose Royce (Car Wash, 1976)

Mr. Jonathan - Gerald Lee (Black Shampoo, 1976)

Shake Down - Vic Ceaser (Bare Kuckles, 1977)

Theme From Big Time - Smoky Robinson (Big Time, 1977)

Youngblood (Livin' In The Streets) - War (Youngblood, 1978)

 

For many years, I mistakenly thought the songs below had originated from blaxploitation soundtracks. Would have felt about as comfortable as Bond up in Harlem if I had included them, but they're worth featuring here to see my error and a shameless excuse to say they're dope as hell, regardless:

Quincy Jones With The Don Elliott Voices - Money Runner
($, AKA The Heist soundtrack, 1972)

Michael Masser - My Hero Is A Gun
(Mahogany soundtrack, 1975)

 

 

Pam Grier - Long Time Woman
(The Big Doll House soundtrack, 1971)

 

 

Started with Pam and ended with Pam. Nice!