The Harder They Come (song)
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| "The Harder They Come" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Jimmy Cliff | |
| from the album The Harder They Come | |
| B-side | "Many Rivers to Cross" |
| Released | 1972 |
| Format | 7" vinyl |
| Genre | Reggae |
| Length | 3:05 |
| Label | Island |
| Writer(s) | Jimmy Cliff |
| Producer | Jimmy Cliff |
"The Harder They Come" is a reggae song by the Jamaican 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.
Contents |
[edit] Joe Jackson version
| "The Harder They Come" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Single by Joe Jackson Band | ||||
| B-side | "Out of Style" "Tilt" |
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| Released | June 1980 | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl | |||
| Genre | Reggae, Rock | |||
| Length | 3:50 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Writer(s) | Jimmy Cliff | |||
| Producer | Joe Jackson | |||
| Joe Jackson Band singles chronology | ||||
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Joe Jackson recorded "The Harder They Come" with his band and released it as a single in 1980. It didn't chart in the UK.
[edit] Track listing
| Side one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "The Harder They Come" | Jimmy Cliff | 3:50 | ||||||
| Side two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 2. | "Out of Style" | Joe Jackson | 2:55 | ||||||
| 3. | "Tilt" | Jackson | 2:41 | ||||||
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch GfK chart[1] | 34 |
| Dutch Top 40[2] | 35 |
| Swedish Singles Chart[3] | 18 |
[edit] Rockers Revenge version
| "The Harder They Come" | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Single by Rockers Revenge featuring Donnie Calvin | |
| Released | 1983 |
| Format | 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl |
| Genre | Electro |
| Length | 3:37 |
| Label | London |
| Writer(s) | Jimmy Cliff |
| Producer | Arthur Baker |
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Club Play Singles[4] | 13 |
| Irish Singles Chart[5] | 30 |
| UK Singles Chart[6] | 30 |
[edit] Madness version
| "The Harder They Come" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Madness | ||||
| from the album Madstock! | ||||
| Released | 1992 | |||
| Format | CD | |||
| Recorded | 1992 | |||
| Genre | Pop/Ska | |||
| Length | 3:27 | |||
| Label | Go Discs | |||
| Writer(s) | Jimmy Cliff | |||
| Producer | Clive Langer Alan Winstanley |
|||
| Madness singles chronology | ||||
|
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"The Harder They Come" was released as a single by the band Madness 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[7].
[edit] Track listing
| CD Single #1 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "The Harder They Come" | Jimmy Cliff | 3:27 | ||||||
| 2. | "Land of Hope and Glory" (Live) | Chris Foreman, Lee Thompson | 3:33 | ||||||
| 3. | "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)" (Live) | Mike Barson, Carl Smyth | 3:23 | ||||||
| 4. | "Take It or Leave It" (Live) | Barson, Thompson | 3:51 | ||||||
| CD Single #2 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "The Harder They Come" | Cliff | 3:27 | ||||||
| 2. | "Embarrassment" (Live) | Barson, Thompson | 3:12 | ||||||
| 3. | "Grey Day" (Live) | Barson | 4:53 | ||||||
| 4. | "Baggy Trousers" (Live) | Graham McPherson, Foreman | 2:42 | ||||||
[edit] Other cover versions
"The Harder They Come" has also been covered by:
- Merl Saunders / Jerry Garcia / John Kahn / Bill Vitt, on Live at the Keystone (1973)
- Cher, entitled "The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Fall" on Stars (1975)
- Keith Richards, as the B-side to his single "Run, Rudolph, Run" (1978)
- Titãs, on Titãs (1984)
- Poison Idea, on Pajama Party (1992)
- Rancid, live on Tibetan Freedom Concert (1997)
- Kahimi Karie, on K.K.K.K.K. (1998)
- Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, on Warped Tour 2003 Tour Compilation (2003)
- Jerry Garcia Band, on After Midnight: Kean College, 2/28/80, released in 2004
- moe., on Warts and All: Volume 4 (2005)
- Willie Nelson, on Countryman (2005)
- Pat MacDonald, on Bridging the Distance: a Portland, OR covers compilation (2007)
- Desmond Dekker
- Jaya the Cat
- Social Distortion (live only)
- Joe Strummer and the Long Beach Dub Allstars
- Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros (live only)
- Johnny Thunders and Wayne Kramer's short-lived band Gang War
- The Waco Brothers
- Widespread Panic (known live version)
- Guster, on the Everwood soundtrack
[edit] References
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl - Joe Jackson Band - The Harder They Come (in Dutch)". http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Joe+Jackson+Band&titel=The+Harder+They+Come&cat=s. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40, week 34, 1980 (in Dutch)". http://www.top40.nl/index.aspx?week=34&jaar=1980. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com - Joe Jackson Band - The Harder They Come". http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Joe+Jackson+Band&titel=The+Harder+They+Come&cat=s. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ "allmusic ((( Rockers Revenge > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p41254/charts-awards. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ "irishcharts.ie search results". http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Rocker's Revenge Featuring Donnie Calvin - The Harder They Come". http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=10394. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Madness - The Harder They Come". http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=20395. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
[edit] External links
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