This edition of Throwback Post centers on the original motion picture soundtrack for the blaxploitation film Come Back Charleston Blue, the sequel to the 1970 film Cotton Comes to Harlem. The 1972 crime comedy starred Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques and is based on the Chester Himes novel The Heat’s On. The film also stars Peter De Anda, Percy Rodrigues, Jonelle Allen, Maxwell Glanville, Minnie Gentry, Dick Sabol and Leonardo Cimino.
The album, a mix of Jazz, Funk and Soul, was released by Atco Records. The music was composed & conducted by Donny Hathaway and supervised by the legendary Quincy Jones. Hathaway also handled all vocals for the album, except for the theme song, where he was joined by Margie Joseph. The original cover art for the album as well as the movie poster, was painted by illustrator Robert McGinnis, who was known for his work for more than 1,200 paperback book covers and over 40 movie posters, including Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Barbarella and several James Bond and Matt Helm films.
The script for Come Back Charleston Blue is inspired by real life Harlem gangsters Bumpy Johnson and Frank Lucas. Lucas was also known for his “Blue Magic” brand of heroin, which he dealt at the time the film was made, in both Harlem, New York and Newark, New Jersey. Actress Tamara Dobson, who made her screen debut in the film, when on to star in the cult classics Cleopatra Jones (1973), Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975) and Chained Heat (1983). Other noted actors performers that appeared in Come Back Charleston Blue include: Gloria Hendry, who went on to play Rosie in the James Bond film Live and Let Die (1973) and co-star with Jim Kelly in Black Belt Jones (1974); and Philip Michael Thomas, who played Detective Ricardo Tubbs in the 1980’s crime series Miami Vice.
Tracklist
- Main Theme
- Basie
- String Segue
- Vegetable Wagon
- Harlem Dawn
- Scratchy Record
- Explosion
- Hearse To Graveyard
- Switch “Charleston Blue”
- Come Back Basie
- Detective’s Goof
- Gravedigger Jones & Coffin Ed’s Funeral
- String Segue
- Little Ghetto Boy
- Hail To The Queen
- Drag Queen Chase
- Bossa Nova
- Tim’s High
- Furniture Truck
- Liberation
- Come Back Charleston Blue
