The Harder They Come (song)
Encyclopedia
"The Harder They Come" is a reggae
song
by the Jamaica
n singer Jimmy Cliff
. It was first recorded
for the soundtrack
of the movie by the same name
.
"The Harder They Come" has been covered
by many artists and was ranked #341 on Rolling Stone
s "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
The song is the entrance music for heavyweight boxer Samuel Peter
and was played live by Jimmy Cliff on an episode of The Colbert Report.
recorded "The Harder They Come" with his band and released it as a single in 1980. It didn't chart in the UK.
in 1992 after a successful reunion concert held at London
's Finsbury Park. The single was recorded live at the event along with its B-sides. Although in 1992 Madness had success with reissues of "It Must Be Love" and "My Girl
", their version of "The Harder They Come" failed to make the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart
; it peaked at #44.
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
by the Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n singer Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff, OM is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor. He is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences...
. It was first recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
for the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of the movie by the same name
The Harder They Come
The Harder They Come is a 1972 Jamaican crime film directed by Perry Henzell.The film stars reggae singer Jimmy Cliff, who plays Ivanhoe Martin, a character based on Rhyging, a real-life Jamaican criminal who achieved fame in the 1940s...
.
"The Harder They Come" has been covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by many artists and was ranked #341 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
The song is the entrance music for heavyweight boxer Samuel Peter
Samuel Peter
Samuel Okon Peter , nicknamed "The Nigerian Nightmare," is a professional heavyweight boxer and the former WBC heavyweight champion....
and was played live by Jimmy Cliff on an episode of The Colbert Report.
Joe Jackson version
Joe JacksonJoe Jackson (musician)
Joe Jackson is an English musician and singer-songwriter now living in Berlin, whose five Grammy Award nominations span from 1979 to 2001...
recorded "The Harder They Come" with his band and released it as a single in 1980. It didn't chart in the UK.
Track listing
Chart performance
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch GfK GfK The GfK Group, established in 1934 as Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung is Germany's largest market research institute, and the fourth largest market research organisation in the world, after Nielsen Company, Kantar Group, and IMS Health... chart |
34 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
35 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 18 |
Chart performance
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Club Play Singles Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
13 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
30 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
30 |
Madness version
"The Harder They Come" was released as a single by the band MadnessMadness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
in 1992 after a successful reunion concert held at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Finsbury Park. The single was recorded live at the event along with its B-sides. Although in 1992 Madness had success with reissues of "It Must Be Love" and "My Girl
My Girl (Madness song)
"My Girl" is a song by British ska/pop group Madness from their debut album, One Step Beyond.... It was written by Mike Barson. The song was released as a single on 21 December 1979 and spent 10 weeks on the UK Singles Chart peaking at number 3....
", their version of "The Harder They Come" failed to make the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
; it peaked at #44.
Track listing
Other cover versions
"The Harder They Come" has also been covered by:- Merl SaundersMerl SaundersMerl Saunders, was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ.-Biography:...
/ Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
/ John KahnJohn KahnJohn Kahn was an American rock bass player. For a period of about twenty five years Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead.-Biography:...
/ Bill Vitt, on Live at the Keystone (1973) - CherCherCher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, entitled "The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Fall" on StarsStars (Cher album)-Personnel:*Cher - lead vocals*Jimmy Webb - record producer, musical arranger, conducted*John Haeny - recorded and mixed*Gary Webb - arrangement assistance*Bill King - photography cover*Norman Seeff - photography back*Jesse Ed Davis - electric guitar...
(1975) - Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
, as the B-sideA-side and B-sideA-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
to his single "Run, Rudolph, RunRun Rudolph Run"Run, Rudolph, Run" is a Christmas song popularized by Chuck Berry and written by Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie and published by St. Nicholas Music . The song was first recorded by Berry in 1958 and released as Chess Records 1714...
" (1978) - TitãsTitãsTitãs are a rock band from São Paulo, Brazil. Their best-known line up is the one in the album Cabeça Dinossauro : Nando Reis , Branco Mello , Marcelo Fromer , Arnaldo Antunes , Tony Bellotto , Paulo Miklos , Charles Gavin and Sérgio Britto...
, on TitãsTitãs (album)Titãs is the debut album of Brazilian rock band Titãs. It is the only album to feature André Jung on drums. The album also features Pena Schmidt's production, polishing the edges to the vanishing clear-cut point and burying instruments over layers of synths and electronic drumming typical of the...
(1984) - Poison IdeaPoison IdeaPoison Idea was an American hardcore punk band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1980. The band originally dissolved in 1993, but has been playing intermittently since 1998.-Formation, 1980's and 90's:...
, on Pajama Party (1992) - RancidRancid (band)Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, both of whom previously played in the ska punk band Operation Ivy, Rancid is credited—along with Green Day and The Offspring—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the...
, live on Tibetan Freedom ConcertTibetan Freedom Concert (album)Tibetan Freedom Concert was a series of rock concerts between 1996 and 2001 to support the cause of Tibetan independence. This album covers the 1997 concert held in New York City.-Disc 1:#Opening prayers - Tibetan monks#"Ground On Down" - Ben Harper...
(1997) - Kahimi KarieKahimi KarieKahimi sings in English, French, and Japanese with whisper-like vocals.-Albums:* 1997 - Larme de crocodile * July 15, 1998 - K.K.K.K.K. * May 24, 2000 - Tilt...
, on K.K.K.K.K. (1998) - Me First and the Gimme GimmesMe First and the Gimme GimmesMe First and the Gimme Gimmes is a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in 1995. The Gimmes work exclusively as a cover band. The band is named after a children's book of the same name by Gerald G. Jampolsky and Diane V. Cirincione...
, on Warped Tour 2003 Tour CompilationWarped Tour 2003 Tour CompilationThe Warped Tour 2003 Tour Compilation is the eighth installment in the annual compilation series accompanying the Warped Tour. The album's cover is a photograph of Eric Melvin of NOFX performing on the 2002 tour.-Track listing:...
(2003) - Jerry Garcia BandJerry Garcia BandThe Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side-projects until his death in 1995...
, on After Midnight: Kean College, 2/28/80After Midnight: Kean College, 2/28/80- Jerry Garcia Band :* Jerry Garcia — guitar, vocals* John Kahn — bass* Ozzie Ahlers — keyboards* Johnny d'Foncesca — drums- Production :* Original producer — Jerry Garcia* Release producer — Christopher Sabec, Peter McQuaid, Hale Milgrim...
, released in 2004 - moe.Moe.moe. is an American jam band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are: Rob Derhak , Al Schnier , Chuck Garvey , Vinnie Amico , and Jim Loughlin ....
, on Warts and All: Volume 4Warts and All: Volume 4Warts and All: Volume 4 is a live album recorded on July 18, 1998 at the Copper Dragon in Carbondale, Illinois. It is the fourth set in a collection of commercially-released full-concert live albums by the American jam band moe.-Disc one:...
(2005) - Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, on Countryman (2005) - Pat MacDonald, on Bridging the Distance: a Portland, OR covers compilationBridging the Distance: a Portland, OR covers compilationBridging the Distance: a Portland, OR covers compilation is a compilation album released April 17, 2007 by Arena Rock Recording Co. to benefit .- Track listing :-Bonus tracks :-External links:****...
(2007) - Desmond DekkerDesmond DekkerDesmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group, The Aces , he had one of the first international Jamaican hits with "Israelites". Other hits include "007 " and "It Miek"...
- Jaya the CatJaya the CatJaya The Cat is a reggae/ska/punk rock band originating from Boston, Massachusetts , currently based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.-History:Jaya The Cat was founded by Geoff Lagadec , Dave Smith , and Ben Murphy...
- Social DistortionSocial DistortionSocial Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and David Hidalgo, Jr...
(live only) - Joe StrummerJoe StrummerJohn Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
and the Long Beach Dub AllstarsLong Beach Dub AllstarsThe Long Beach Dub Allstars were a dub reggae/ska/rock band formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2002.-History:Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh met in childhood and later started their first garage punk band, consisting of drums, bass and vocals. They later formed Sublime with Brad Nowell... - Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros (live only)
- Johnny ThundersJohnny ThundersJohnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr. , was an American protopunk guitarist, singer and songwriter.He came to prominence in the early '70s as a member of the New York Dolls...
and Wayne KramerWayne Kramer (guitarist)Wayne Kramer is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and film and television scorer....
's short-lived band Gang War - The Waco BrothersThe Waco BrothersThe Waco Brothers are an alternative country band in Chicago, Illinois, formed by Jon Langford of the Mekons. The group grew out of Langford's wish to play more country-influenced music as the Mekons concentrated more on a punk sound. They were originally put together simply for local Chicago...
- Widespread PanicWidespread PanicWidespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring...
(known live version) - GusterGusterGuster is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 1991, the group is known for its live performances and humor, founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel came about to begin practice sessions while attending Tufts University in Medford,...
, on the EverwoodEverwoodEverwood is an American drama television series that initially aired in the United States on The WB. The series is set in the fictional small town of Everwood, Colorado, and was filmed in Ogden, South Salt Lake, and Draper, Utah, except the series pilot which was filmed in Canmore, Alberta,...
soundtrack
External links
- [ Review] of "The Harder They Come" by Jimmy Cliff at Allmusic