JIMMY CLIFF!
Nearly forgot this one . . . . . . Born on this day: April 1, 1948 - Reggae music icon Jimmy Cliff (born James Chambers in Somerton District, St. James, Jamaica). Happy 69th Birthday, Jimmy!!
againanother from Jeff Harris' wonderful music blog
This album 'The Harder They Come' was an important release for me and possibly the first real Reggae album I bought. I had purchased 'Put it On, It's Rock Steady' with Bob and the Wailers doing the title track but that was very much Rock Steady and not Reggae so much as the names indicate. Steve, my brother had bought some earlier Bluebeat (Ezz Reco I think) but this was a towering album with so many tracks that have stayed with me. Despite somehow as memory serves that we couldn't get to see the film for some reason. I went to school with the actor and legendary DJ David 'Ram-Jam' Rodigan who is still going strong in the field, so we had heard a lot of this early Ska and Reggae through him. From Rude Boy Londoner the Cuban born Laurel Aitken, the naughtiest Prince Buster, Ken Boothe to Bob Marley and Toots and The Maytals. Also I grew up with my best and longest standing friends with the family of Percy Lewis the boxer and his sons Leo and Leon, introduced me to Calypso and Trinidadian Steel band music plus Soca from early bands like Mighty Sparrow, Lord Kitchener and earlier sounds like Mento which I love also. This album however, though influenced by those folks, was the first I bought with my own pocket money after 'Put It On' and remains a favourite for Jimmy, Desmond Dekker's 007 and The Melodians original version of 'The Rivers of Babylon'
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