Highlights - CHRIS BLACKWELL - Founder of Island Records - Author of “The Islander: My Life in Music and Beyond"

“The Harder They Come, that film was made by a very close friend of mine. And it was at a period where Jamaican music had started to really catch fire a bit. It was certainly selling in England. It was starting to grow, and there was interest in England and Europe. Not really in America. America wasn't interested in it at that period in time at all. But it was really decided to try and get this across. To do a film so you could get a feel for where this music was coming from. And a man called Perry Henzell, who was a very good friend of mine, he wanted to do a film. He called me one time and said there was an album cover of Jimmy Cliff, who was one of the other artists that I was working with from early on. And he said he's the guy I really want to be the leader of the film. And so I said, ‘Okay, that's great. Go ahead.’ And so Jimmy Cliff really became the leader of that film. And that film really sort of expanded the whole image and point of view of Jamaican music and Jamaican life. That film was very, very important for getting Jamaican music known in the world.”