"The Harder They Come" is a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

song by the Jamaican singer

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers, Jamaican Order of Merit, OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hol ...

. It was first recorded for the soundtrack of the 1972 movie of the same name, in which it is supposed to have been written by the film's main character, Ivanhoe Martin. "The Harder They Come" has been covered by many artists and was ranked number 350 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine's list of "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Jimmy Cliff recording

In 1969, singer Jimmy Cliff met film director Perry Henzell, who was intending to make a film about a musician who turned to crime. Cliff agreed to take the lead role, and the film was shot over the next two years. During filming, Cliff came up with the line "the harder they come". Henzell thought it would make a good title for the film, and asked Cliff to write and record a theme song for it. The actual recording of the track, at Dynamic Sounds, was filmed for inclusion in the movie. Cliff wrote the melody, and improvised the lyrics. The musicians were Gladstone Anderson (piano), Winston Wright (organ), Winston Grennan (drums), Linford "Hux" Brown (lead guitar), Ranford "Ranny Bop" Williams (rhythm guitar), and Clifton "Jackie" Jackson (bass).

Joe Jackson version

Joe Jackson recorded "The Harder They Come" with his band and released it as a single in 1980. It did not chart in the UK.

Track listing

Charts

Rockers Revenge version

"The Harder They Come" was recorded by the group Rockers Revenge in 1983 after their successful cover version of the

Eddy Grant Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese in the United Kingdom, Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound and socially conscious lyrics; his music has blended elements of p ...

song " Walking On Sunshine" the previous year. The single peaked at number 13 in the US Dance Chart and at number 30 in the UK and

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

Chart performance

Madness version

"The Harder They Come" was released as a single by English ska band Madness in November 1992 after a successful reunion concert held at

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

'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, peaking at number 44.

Track listings

Charts

Other cover versions

"The Harder They Come" has also been covered by: * Jerry Garcia Band, on '' After Midnight: Kean College, 2/28/80'', released in 2004 *

Merl Saunders Merl Saunders (February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008) was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ. Biography Born in San Mateo, California, United States, Saunders attended Poly ...

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

/ John Kahn / Bill Vitt, on '' Live at Keystone'' (1973) *

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, entitled "The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Fall" on ''

Stars A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of ...

'' (1975) *

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

, as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to his single " Run Rudolph Run" (1978) *

Titãs Titãs (, Portuguese for Titans) are a Brazilian Rock music, rock band from São Paulo. Though they primarily are classified as a rock band, the band have also experimented with genres such as New wave music, new wave, punk rock, ska, grunge, M� ...

released a version in Portuguese entitled "Querem Meu Sangue" ("They Want My Blood") on ''

'' (1984). Cliff would then perform a medley version with them on the live album '' Acústico MTV'' (1997). * Rancid, live on '' Tibetan Freedom Concert'' (1997) * Kahimi Karie, on '' K.K.K.K.K.'' (1998) *

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash' ...

and Long Beach Dub Allstars, on charity compilation '' Free the West Memphis 3'' (2000) *

The Mescaleros The Mescaleros were the British backing band for British singer, musician and songwriter Joe Strummer, formed in 1999, which issued three albums prior to Strummer's death in 2002. Many of the band members were multi-instrumentalists. The origi ...

, live on CD single "Coma Girl" (2003) *

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (often shortened to MFGG or the Gimmes) are a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in San Francisco in 1995. The band's lineup consists of Spike Slawson, C. J. Ramone, Joey Cape, Pinch and John Reis. ...

, on ''Warped Tour 2003 Tour Compilation'' (2003) *

Wayne Kramer Wayne Stanley Kramer (''né'' Kambes; April 30, 1948 – February 2, 2024) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, and Film score, film and television composer. Kramer came to prominence in the 1960s as the lead guitarist of t ...

has released two slightly different versions of the song, on the 2000 compilation "Cocaine Blues" and the "Dodge Main" album, with Deniz Tek and Scott Morgan * moe., on '' Warts and All: Volume 4'' (2005) *

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

, on '' Countryman'' (2005) * Pat MacDonald, on '' Bridging the Distance: a Portland, OR covers compilation'' (2007) *

Guster Guster is an American alternative rock band formed in Somerville, Massachusetts. Founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel began practice sessions while attending Tufts University and formed the band in 1991. The mem ...

, on the '' Everwood'' soundtrack *

Poison Idea Poison Idea was an American punk rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1980. History Formation, 1980s, and 1990s Poison Idea was formed in 1980 by vocalist Jerry A. (aka Jerry Lang). The initial lineup consisted of Jerry A., Chris Ten ...

, on ''Pyjama Party'' (1992) * Widespread Panic – July 27, 2001 - Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, Pelham, Alabama. * Canned Heat – 1974 single version on Atlantic 45-3236

References

External links

Review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

of "The Harder They Come" by Jimmy Cliff at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harder They Come, The 1972 singles Jimmy Cliff songs Joe Jackson (musician) songs 1992 singles Madness (band) songs 1980 singles 1972 songs Island Records singles A&M Records singles London Records singles Go! Discs singles Songs written by Jimmy Cliff Song recordings produced by Clive Langer Song recordings produced by Alan Winstanley