The 500 - #122 - "The Harder They Come" Soundtrack - Jimmy Cliff and Various Artists

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

---

Album #: 122
Album Title: The Harder They Come Soundtrack
Artist: Jimmy Cliff and Various Artists
Genre: Rocksteady, Reggae, Ska
Recorded: Multiple Studios, Jamaica

Released: July, 1972
My age at release: 6
How familiar was I with it before this week: A Couple Songs
Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #174, Dropping 52 places
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: You Can Get It If You Really Want

Just a few months ago, on November 24, 2025, the world said goodbye to Jamaican singer, musician, songwriter and actor Jimmy Cliff. In the days that followed, social media lit up with tributes. Friends, fans, and fellow musicians flooded timelines with memories, gratitude, and celebrations of a legacy that stretched far beyond the Caribbean island’s shores.

Born James Chambers, Jimmy Cliff began writing songs while still in primary school in Saint James Parish, just outside the tourist hub of Montego Bay. Recognizing the spark in his son, Cliff’s father took 14‑year‑old James to Kingston, the humming. creative centre of Jamaica.

It was there that he adopted the stage name Jimmy Cliff. He later revealed that he chose “Cliff” to symbolize the artistic heights he intended to climb. From the very beginning, he wasn’t content with being a local sensation. As a teenager, he dreamed of carrying his music far beyond the shores of the Caribbean island he called home.

Cliff in 1971 - age 27.

In 1964, after releasing several hit songs in Jamaica, he was chosen as one of the country's representatives at the 1965 New York World's Fair. He was featured in a promotion called This Is Ska! alongside fellow Jamaican artists Prince Buster, The Dragonaires, Byron Lee, and Toots And The Maytals, whose record Funky Kingston appears at #380 on The 500.

Postcard for the New York World's Fair, 1964.

The Jamaican exhibit at the World's Fair helped to introduce global audiences to the island's music, but it would be a 1972 crime movie, The Harder They Come, starring Cliff, that helped bring the genres of reggae, ska and rocksteady to the world.

Movie poster for The Harder They Come.

The Harder They Come follows Ivan, a young man who leaves rural Jamaica for Kingston with dreams of becoming a reggae star, only to discover a city shaped by poverty, corruption and exploitation. As he chases opportunities, through music, work and love, he’s pulled into the vibrant but unforgiving world of Kingston’s tough streets where ambition, injustice and survival collide with the pulsing backdrop of early 1970s Jamaica.

A promotional poster, featuring positive
reviews for The Harder They Come.

The film operates on multiple levels. It is, ostensibly, an action/crime flick, but it also offers a sharp social commentary on the urban poverty and systematic corruption that were byproducts of post-colonial inequality. Cleverly, the film pulls in audiences with the promise of excitement and then delivers a surprising social, economic and political critique. The movie was a massive success in Jamaica, but quickly found audiences around the world.

The film has been credited with "bringing reggae to the world", with Jimmy Cliff as the de facto ambassador. The soundtrack, which appears at #122 on The 500, features six tracks by Cliff as well as hit songs from other Jamaican artists, including  The Maytals, The Slickers, Desmond Decker, DJ Scotty, and the Melodians. The result was, according to music critic Robert Christgau, a soundtrack that "collected the best songs of artists whose music was either unavailable or not rich enough to fill a Long Play (LP) record."

Re-issue of The Harder They Come on vinyl (2024).

The record is now considered one of the best of all time and has been deemed "culturally, aesthetically and historically significant" by the Library of Congress (U.S.A.) and has been selected for preservation by the National Recording Registry (U.S.A.).

Rest in Peace Mr. Cliff. You absolutely crested the peak of that summit you hoped to climb as a teenager.

Ten Influential Albums - Day 1

This is an update from a post from June 10, 2018 

Once again, the Influential Album Challenge is circulating on Social Media platforms -- mainly Facebook. Typically, a friend who is participating nominates you. 

Their Facebook post likely reads...

"I've been nominated by *NAME* to post ten albums that influenced me. One album per day for ten days. No explanations. No reviews. Just the covers. Then, the challenger nominates three people, including you." 

Although I love being nominated, I don't like nominating people -- I feel like I am imposing. 

I've participated in this challenge before. Consequently, this post is an update. No explanations or reviews are expected but, if you know me, you know I love to talk about me...and music. I will:

• Post chronologically (trying to capture different phases of my life).
• Include a brief story about the record and my relationship with it.   
• Not nominate anyone else, but anyone is welcome to join. As I put it on Facebook, it is a Schrödinger's invitation. You have, simultaneously, been selected and not selected.

Day 1: I needed to pick something from my first decade and settled on the Soundtrack to Oliver. This was the first record I "liberated" from of my parent's collection -- which I remember being comprised of records by Nana Mouskouri, Mario Lanza and, for some reason, an Hawaiian Luau disc.

Food, Glorious Food, Consider Yourself and I'd Do Anything became the first lyrics I memorized. It was also when I learned to lift a needle and select a track of my choice by placing it in the appropriate groove. This was about 1973 (age 8) in St. Catharines, Ontario. My portable record player was awful and I am sure I did irreparable damage to many discs. However, it was the most wonderful technology available in my world. 

This was also the album that awakened my love for genre-crossing music. Oliver has grand orchestral numbers, cheeky, boppy comedic tracks, and tender, heartfelt ballads.

Honorable mentions must go to the records that almost made the cut - also from my parents' collection.

• The Fiddler on the Roof Soundtrack  
• Life in a Tin Can by The Bee Gees.
• Golden Greats by Elvis Presley