The Harder the Come and Marley breaks through

"I'd rather be a free man in my grave / than living as a puppet or a slave / so as sure as the sun will shine / I'm gonna get my share of what's mine" - Ivan (Jimmy Cliff)

Writer and movie maker Perry Henzell, prepared the script for the movie intending (and ultimately succeeding), to ensure that the ghettoes and the environment were portrayed in as realistic way as possible. Originally to be part of a Trilogy, The Harder They Come was the only movie to be completed, Henzell walking away from the trilogy project when footage for the second movie (Power Game) was lost. The Harder They Come was produced in fits and starts, made over a period of time when and if Henzell could scrounge up enough money to make it happen. Other times, the production was held up when players (many of them non-actors) disappeared for weeks or got arrested.

Released in 1972, and accompanied by a soundtrack released by Island records, "The Harder the Come" brought the gritty life of a Rude Boy in Jamaica to global attention. The movie was hard-hitting, made no attempt to make the deep Jamaican accents more understandable, and the soundtrack, rather than being filled with the pop-reggae and ska dominating the charts, contained some gritty hard Rude Boy anthems. Six of the twelve tracks on the soundtrack were recorded by Jimmy Cliff, who also starred in the movie, but other tracks included "007 (Shanty Town)" from Desmond Dekker, and the greatest of all Rude Boy anthems, "Johnny Too Bad" by the Slickers.

The movie was a limited success, but gave Jamaica and Reggae global exposure.

Now reggae and the small Caribbean island had put a foot on the world stage, but it needed a recognisable character to bring together the music, the style and the spirituality and present it in a packaged form that would appeal to the hardcore and new listener alike.

Once again, step forward Robert Nesta Marley. In 1972 the Wailers, with the Barrett brothers now part of the band, moved to England to work for Johnny Nash and his marketing expert Brent Clarke. After very limited success, Brent moved to Island Records, giving Blackwell a demo tape of Marley and the Wailers. Blackwell, now desperate to replace Jimmy Cliff recognised the potential. Clarke financed the recording in Jamaica (Dynamic Studios in Kingston), and after some post production additions from guitarist Al Perkins and keyboard player Rabbit Bundrick, finally "Catch a Fire" was ready for release.

However, behind the scenes there were turbulent times as Blackwell began to push Bob into the role of Band Leader, and objections from Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer resulted in contracts and agreements not being signed (Tosh famously pulling a machete on Blackwell). The promotion of "Catch a Fire" did not make international stars of the Wailers.

However, later the same year, a white artist covered Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" - Eric Claptons version gained worldwide acclaim, and reggae hit the world with full force.


Note from the Author: I hope you enjoyed this as a read, and hope that it has inspired you to listen to more, find more and hear more reggae and concious music.... Peace! InspiredFunk

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Inspiration Reviewed by Inspiration on . A Brief History of Reggae Having seen so many threads and posts on Reggae, I thought I would post an article I wrote for my own website for your interest and comment... hopefully for those not into reggae, it will open a world of possibilities. For those new to Reggae it will inform and identify some new artists to look at... Most of all, for those that take the time to read it, I hope you enjoy it... A BRIEF HISTORY OF REGGAE - InspiredFunk Jamaica is considered the home of Reggae, developing the unique Rating: 5