The Mexican

Recorded in summer 1972 at Abbey Road Studios in London with Babe Ruth and producers Alan Shacklock and Nick Mobbs. Alan Shacklock wrote the song, and the album sessions also featured Tony Clark as engineer. Issued in 1972 as part of Babe Ruth’s debut album First Base on Harvest. The track stood out for its hard-driving beat and Morricone interpolation, and it became the album’s best-known song even though the band’s original release was not a major singles-chart hit. The track became a durable reference point for later DJs and artists, with noted uses and reinterpretations by the Bombers, Jellybean Benitez, Liam Howlett, and GZA. It is also remembered as a sample-source and club record in hip-hop and dance culture, with Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock” part of its broader legacy.