This year marks 30 years since the release of Cool Runnings, the Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture based on the Jamaican Bobsled Team at the 1988 Winter Olympics. The film was accompanied by a soundtrack which was certified Gold December 6, 1994. So far the album has sold 549,000 album equivalent units in the U.S. according to data received by World Music Views® from sales tracker Luminate. Including 474,000 pure copies and 60 million Streams (including on-demand audio/video).
The album spawns several notable singles such as Jimmy Cliff‘s cover of Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now” which peaked at No. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It is Cliff’s highest charting song.
On its own, “I Can See Clearly Now” has sold sold 752K units in the U.S. according to Luminate.
At 22, Diana King got her first taste of the International market with the remix of Bob Marley’s Stir It Up which got her a record deal with Columbia Records. King recalls how her demo became one of the projects notable singles via her Instagram,
“Gratitude. this was my 1st international release with sony Music in #1993 i was 22 y’o. i didnt even have a demo, i was discovered singing backing vocals for #shabbaranks so i quickly did this cover to showcase my style. i always luv this @bobmarley song. sony luv this ruff demo so much they put it ‘as is’ on the “cool runnings” soundtrack, a film about a Jamaican bobsled team. this song peaked at #53 on the #billboard charts — king.”
1960s reggae group The Wailing Souls are listed as the primary artists with three songs on the compilation (Wild Wild Life, Picky Picky Head and Love You Want) but Other Columbia Records artist to make the cut were Tiger (Cool Me Down),Tony Rebel (Sweet Jamaica), Super Cat (Dolly My Baby feat. Trevor Sparks) , and instrumentals from Hans Zimmer titled Countrylypso and The Walk Home. Worl-A-Girl did the Bobsledding Chant.
The A&R for the Soundtrack was Maxine Isis Stowe, who talks with World Music Views® about the making of the Soundtrack album. She explains how Sony’s 360 in house formula was used to break new Jamaican artists and make the project a success.
How did you curate such a diverse soundtrack for Cool Runnings to capture the essence of the film’s Jamaican setting and Olympic journey?
The “Cool Runnings Soundtrack” was released on September 28, 1993 roughly two years after my first major label release of ‘Dancehall Reggaespanol’ on November 26th, 1991, ‘Don Dada’ Super Cat release date, May 12, 1992, and single Ghetto Red Hot, April 16, 1992 Cobra’s ‘Flex’ single released July 30, 1992.
It was released on Chaos Recordings a subdivision label of Columbia Records launched in 1992 that was overseen by Columbia A&R head David Khane incorporated Reggae recordings being brought in via the West Coast A& R Pam Turbov. Wailing Souls executive producer Lee Jaffe & Jamaican Producer Paul Henton (Computer Paul) who produced Jimmy Cliff’s Single. Diana King, who was just signed by me, it was also decided for her to be released on Chaos.
So I remember the Soundtrack & Reggae being a major platform to launch that sub-label. It eventually folded in 1995. I established the timeline to show the interconnected role of the prior successes being a market and creative driver.
What criteria did you use to select the artists and tracks featured on the Cool Runnings soundtrack?
The selection was driven by the success of Reggae Dancehall on Columbia and Sister label Epic (Records) to launch a new label Chaos, and the artists were chosen from those parameters.
Were there any specific challenges in acquiring the rights to certain songs or collaborating with particular musicians for the film’s soundtrack?
All the artists were signed to Columbia/Chaos and the producers Lee Jaffe & Paul Henton were associated. Based on the success at Columbia we were the spearhead and marketing team for Chaos.
Can you share any behind-the-scenes anecdotes or interesting stories about the process of creating the Cool Runnings soundtrack?
It was about learning how different specializations in the major record labels work and how the music and their marketing budgets was oftentimes used/mixed and matched to launch sub-labels.
How did you balance popular mainstream tracks with lesser-known, culturally significant music to ensure a well-rounded and authentic representation of Jamaican music and culture?
At this level of A&R this is the essence of your job to identify lesser known, culturally significant music and curate, remix and match in order to penetrate mainstream culture.
Were there any songs or artists that you initially wanted to include on the soundtrack but couldn’t due to licensing or other reasons?
The Soundtrack choices were integrated with new artists development, and the SONY labels collectively had the most Jamaican artists signed. So these vehicles were satisfying to develop the genres market penetration.
As an A&R for the Cool Runnings soundtrack, what were your primary goals in shaping the music to complement the film’s storyline and characters?
The interface was with Maureen Crowe who was Vice President of Soundtracks at Columbia Records. Music Supervisors and in particular, Maureen, do the musical design, casting and original song creation, on camera performances and the musical style of a film. She spearheaded some of the most groundbreaking achievements in the field, most notably the best selling soundtrack of all time “Bodyguard”.
I went on to work with her on the first Bad Boys soundtrack that co-launched Diana King’s single “Shy Guy” and Pret A Porter that helped to drive and benefit from InI Kamoze’s hit Here Comes The Hotstepper . In working with Maureen as she did her thing, I learnt from the best.
Did you face any pressure to incorporate songs that were popular at the time of the film’s release, or did you focus solely on creating a timeless and memorable soundtrack?
In response to your questions it reminds me that being at a major is the intersection of resources and platforms that it brings. It’s multi layered and not linear. It’s a machine in support of a physical sound recording and manufacturing industry, which has become more centralized in my thinking and analysis of my experiences, especially as I interrogate the centrality of the Sound System to Jamaica Music development and internationalization. As the Soundtracks were marketing tools to advance and or launch the artists the focus on dual success and having a Jamaican improbable storyline film being marketed on this level was a masterful collaboration of the culture in film and music.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently in the selection or curation of the Cool Runnings soundtrack, or are you completely satisfied with the final outcome?
I am more than completely satisfied, I actually went on from Columbia to Island Records as VP of A&R where I did Jimmy Cliff’s Higher & Higher album and the Dancehall Queen Soundtrack as two of the projects there that benefited from my Columbia/SONY work experience & achievements. Further with the rise of content and focus on storytelling/films and new technologies, I am well suited to engage how music/film interplay can successfully be achieved as also reasonably critical as to why this area is not invested in locally. As you know I went on to do Third World Cop & One Love. I do see an announcement of $1billion dollars recently for film, but didn’t see any connectivity to music, meaning possibly that music’s role is again being marginalized.
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