Written, produced and directed by television veteran Kenneth Johnson, THE LIBERATORS tells the fact based story of John Fairfield (Carradine) and Billy Jackson (Scott) and their pre-Civil War adventures helping slaves escape their persecution in the South to find their freedom in the North, with the assistance of Levi Coffin (Mainprize) and the Underground Railroad. A mixture of sober drama, light comedy and adventure, THE LIBERATORS was a very ambitious project for its day and not the usual programming for an early Sunday evening.

THE LIBERATORS originally aired on February 8th, 1987 on ABC. Since its broadcast in 1987, THE LIBERATORS has become something of a lost film, never earning a release on home video in the United States or any other part of the world.

To provide music for THE LIBERATORS, Kenneth Johnson turned to Joe Harnell, his longtime friend and collaborator. THE LIBERATORS provided Joe with an opportunity to score a more dramatic film, after years of scoring genre television shows like THE BIONIC WOMAN and THE INCREDIBLE HULK. In addition to writing the film’s underscore, THE LIBERATORS also gave Joe a chance to use his musical knowledge and record new versions of several traditional Southern songs that would have been well known during the time period in which the film is set. The film’s title sequence uses one of these songs, foregoing the tradition of using a piece of traditional underscore.

THE LIBERATORS features music composed and conducted by Joe Harnell, continuing his successful creative collaboration with Writer/Director/Producer Kenneth Johnson, a relationship that includes fondly remembered television projects from the 1970s such as THE INCREDIBLE HULK, HOT PURSUIT, CLIFFHANGERS, V – The Original Mini-Series and ALIEN NATION. Joe Harnell has been nominated for an Emmy Award on three occasions for Best Dramatic Score. During his career, Harnell composed over 400 hours of original music for motion pictures and television. His scores for THE BIONIC WOMAN and THE INCREDIBLE HULK heavily influenced the scoring of all Universal television programs in the late 1970’s. His scores used a traditional orchestral approach (influenced by his Jazz roots) using a 32 piece orchestra. He frequently conducted scores from the piano during recording sessions and he performed all the piano and keyboard solos in all of his scores.

1. The Liberators 1:06
2. Out For A Stroll? / Remember This 1:28
3. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (Main Titles) 1:09
4. Skunked / A Spoonful Of Mud / Torn Apart 2:44
5. Walk This Way, Ladies 2:08
6. The Reverend Doctor Delivers / River Crossing 2:32
7. Amazing Grace 0:51
8. A Restless Spirit / Welcome To Kentucky 1:23
9. Billy Remembers / Invitations To Christmas Dinner / Train Station 2:54
10. John And Lilah Say Goodbye 2:08
11. Resourceful Escape / Posse / The Rapids 4:31
12. Freedom 1:11
13. God Bless Thee / End Credits 2:51
14. Bumpers 0:26
15. Get On Board 1:05
16. Deck The Halls 1:08
17. Walk In Jerusalem 2:50

Total Disc Time: 33:07