The Harder They Come fiftieth Anniversary Edition (soundtrack album) might be released on vinyl on December 9 by UMe, in keeping with the Yahoo! Entertainment website.
In response to the web site, “Along with a 2LP gatefold-wrapped jacket with lamented gloss coating, the package boasts the liner notes from the fortieth Anniversary Edition along with brand new words courtesy of Jimmy [Cliff] personally and revered reggae historian Dana Smart.”
Jimmy Cliff, who played Ivan, was star of the groundbreaking movie which was co-written by Perry Henzell (who also directed) and Trevor Rhone. Carl Bradshaw as Jose, Winston Stona as detective Ray Jones and Janet Bartley as Elsa were other essential characters.
The soundtrack, built mainly around songs by Jimmy Cliff, was also a monumental success and helped introduce Jamaican popular culture to a worldwide audience. Cliff’s contributions included the title track, Many Rivers to Cross, You Can it if You Really Want, Wonderful World, Beautiful People, and Sitting in Limbo.
Pressure Drop by The Maytals, 007 (Shantytown) by Desmond Dekker and The Aces, By The Rivers of Babylon by The Melodians, and Johnny Too Bad by The Slickers are also a part of a formidable record that Rolling Stone Magazine included on its 500 Best Albums of All Time.
A lot of the soundtrack’s songs were produced by Leslie Kong for his Beverley’s Records. He died in August 1971, 10 months before The Harder They Come opened in Kingston at Carib Theatre.
To commemorate The Harder They Come’s golden anniversary, the Henzell family staged an exhibition of visual art and poetry, inspired by the movie, at Perry Henzell’s former home at West King’s House Road in Kingston.
Henzell and Rhone died in 2006 and 2009, respectively. A lot of the solid, including Bartley and Stona, has also passed away.
Stona, who had other movie roles in Cool Runnings and The Lunatic, died in August.
