this made ABC prepare the format: Musical score and soundtrack The film score was composed, arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones, and the soundtrack album was released on the A&M label in 1977. AllMusic's Richard S. Ginell said "Quincy Jones has been threatening to write a long tone poem sketching the history of black music for decades now, and he has yet to do it. This project, rushed out in the wake of the 1977 TV miniseries Roots, is about as close as he has come. A brief (28 minutes) immaculately produced and segued suite, Roots quickly traces a timeline from Africa to the Civil War, incorporating ancient and modern African influences (with Letta Mbulu as the featured vocalist), a sea shanty, field hollers and fiddle tunes, snippets of dialogue from Roots actor Lou Gossett, and some Hollywood-style movie cues. ... Though some prominent jazzers turn up in the orchestra, there is not a trace of jazz to be heard. This is a timely souvenir of a cultural phenomenon, but merely a curiosity for jazz fans". Track listing All compositions by Quincy Jones except where noted. "Motherland" − 0:29 "Roots Mural Theme" (Gerald Fried) − 2:12 "Main Title: Mama Aifambeni" (Quincy Jones, Caiphus Semenya) − 0:59 "Behold the Only Thing Greater Than Yourself (Birth)" (Jones, Semenya) − 1:30 "Oluwa (Many Rains Ago)" (Jones, Semenya) − 2:28 "Boyhood to Manhood" (Jones, Zak Diouf, Bill Summers) − 0:55 "The Toubob Is Here! (The Capture)" − 1:01 "Middle Passage (Slaveship Crossing)" − 1:15 "You in Americuh Now, African" − 0:33 "Roots Mural Theme Intro (Slave Auction)" (Fried) − 0:16 "Ole Fiddler" (Lou Gossett Jr.) − 1:12 "Jumpin' de Broom (Marriage Ceremony)" (Jones, Bobby Bruce) − 0:42 "What Can I Do? (Hush, Hush, Somebody's Calling My Name)" (Jones, James Cleveland) − 2:16 "Roots Mural Theme Bridge (Plantation Life)" (Fried) − 1:00 "Oh Lord, Come By Here" (Jones, Cleveland) − 3:36 "Ole Fiddler/Free at Last? (The Civil War)" (Gosset/Jones) − 2:24 "Many Rains Ago (Oluwa) [African Theme/English Version]" (Jones, Semenya) − 4:53 Personnel Conceived, produced, arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones Bobby Bryant, Buddy Childers, John Audino − trumpet Bill Watrous, Dick Nash, Maurice Spear − trombone Alan Robinson, David Duke, James Decker − French horn Tommy Johnson − tuba Ernie Watts, Jerome Richardson, Ted Nash, Terry Harrington, Bill Green − woodwinds Dave Grusin, Ian Underwood, Mike Boddicker, Pete Jolly, Richard Tee − keyboards David