“The Israelites” by Desmond Dekker & The Aces

Desmond Dekker wrote "The Israelites" with Leslie Kong for Desmond Dekker & the Aces, and in 1969 it went to number one in country after country. First issued in Jamaica as "Poor Me Israelites", it became the first reggae number one in the UK and one of the first reggae records to crack the American top ten, peaking at 9, even though plenty of British and American listeners couldn't make out some of the Jamaican Patois it's sung in.

The spark was an overheard quarrel: Dekker was walking in a park, eating popcorn, when he caught a couple fighting about money, her needing it and him not earning enough from his job. He turned that everyday squeeze into a song that blends Rastafarian faith with rude boy grit, almost two years after he'd first made his name with "007 (Shanty Town)".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.