Pressure Drop (song)
| "Pressure Drop" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by the Maytals | ||||
| from the album Monkey Man and The Harder They Come | ||||
| B-side | "Smoke Screen" (by Beverley All Stars) | |||
| Released | 1970 | |||
| Recorded | 1969 | |||
| Genre | Reggae | |||
| Label | Beverley's, Trojan Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Frederick "Toots" Hibbert | |||
| Producer(s) | Leslie Kong | |||
| The Maytals singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Pressure Drop" is a song recorded in 1969 by the Maytals for record producer Leslie Kong. The song appears on their 1970 album Monkey Man (released in Jamaica by Beverley's Records) and From the Roots (released in the UK by Trojan Records). "Pressure Drop" helped launch the band's career outside Jamaica when the song was featured on the soundtrack to the 1972 film The Harder They Come, which introduced reggae to much of the world.[1] In 2004, Rolling Stone rated the song No. 453 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[2] This song has been covered often, most notably by Robert Palmer, the Specials, Keith Richards, Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds, the Oppressed and the Clash. It is also featured in the soundtrack for MLB The Show 23.[citation needed]
In an interview in 2016, songwriter Frederick "Toots" Hibbert said that "Pressure Drop" was a song about karmic justice.
It’s a song about revenge, but in the form of karma: If you do bad things to innocent people, then bad things will happen to you. The title was a phrase I used to say. If someone done me wrong, rather than fight them like a warrior, I’d say: 'The pressure’s going to drop on you.'"
— Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert, The Guardian[3]
Charts
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[4] | 47 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[5] | 40 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[6] | 45 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[7] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- ^ "Rolling Stone : Pressure Drop". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 April 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 9 December 2004. Archived from the original on 10 January 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2007.
- ^ Simpson, Dave (6 September 2016). "Toots and the Maytals: how we made Pressure Drop". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- ^ "Izzy Stradlin – Pressure Drop". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Izzy Stradlin – Pressure Drop". Singles Top 100. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "British single certifications – Toots & The Maytals – Pressure Drop". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
