Jimmy Cliff, the enduring reggae star who helped rework the island’s rhythmic music into a worldwide cultural phenomenon, has died, his spouse stated Monday. He was 81.
The household introduced the loss of life in a submit on Cliff’s official Instagram account, saying he “has crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia.”
Over 4 a long time, Cliff wrote and sang songs that fused reggae along with his sensibilities for folks, soul, rhythm and blues, ska and rock music, and addressed points like politics, poverty, injustice and battle protest.
The singer of hits like “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” “Many Rivers to Cross,” and “The Harder They Come,” Cliff is extensively seen as reggae’s most influential determine after the late Bob Marley, with whom he collaborated early in Marley’s profession.
Cliff constructed a serious following, starting with the wildly profitable 1972 movie “The Harder They Come,” which starred the charismatic musician as a rural younger man navigating gangs and road life as he sought to interrupt into Jamaica’s music enterprise.
It drew partly from his personal experiences rising up in poverty, and launched him and reggae music to a worldwide viewers.
“The essence of my music is struggle,” Cliff stated in 1986, in line with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 2010. “What gives it the icing is the hope of love.”
This line from “The Harder They Come” illustrates social justice as a theme of Cliff’s music: “But I’d rather be a free man in my grave, than living as a puppet or a slave.”
Cliff stated at his induction ceremony that he truly “grew up listening to rock and roll music, outside of our Indigenous music in Jamaica,” and that he drew inspiration from the greats, together with Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and Jimi Hendrix.
“Music is about being inspired,” stated Cliff, winner of two Grammy Awards for greatest reggae album — “Cliff Hanger” in 1985, and “Rebirth” in 2012.
In Jamaica on Monday, Cliff was remembered as a nationwide hero.
“There is no way anybody can replace him. That’s a legend we are talking about,” stated Roja Burma, who lives within the capital Kingston.
A person named Clinton, who declined to offer his final identify, stated, “he’s a great loss to Jamaica and we’re going to miss him.”
Jimmy Cliff was born in July 1944 as James Chambers in western Jamaica’s Saint James Parish. After exhibiting early promise as a singer, his father took him to Kingston at age 14 to pursue music.
By age 17 he was a neighborhood star, and shortly moved to Britain, releasing recordings on the Island Records label all through the late Nineteen Sixties together with “Vietnam.” Bob Dylan reportedly referred to as it the most effective protest track he had ever heard.
Two a long time of broad publicity adopted. In addition to “The Harder They Come” movie and soundtrack, he sang with the Rolling Stones, The Clash and Annie Lennox.
He grew to become a star in Latin America and Africa, and headlined worldwide music festivals.
But he by no means reached the heights of Marley, the king of reggae.
“The first time I recorded an album,” Cliff advised French newspaper Le Monde, “I was paid one shilling. The Wailers (Marley’s band) were luckier than me at Studio One, they were paid £2 a week.”
Cliff loved a brand new technology of followers when he recorded Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now,” which featured within the widespread 1993 movie “Cool Runnings.”
After Cliff’s loss of life was introduced, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness stated the Caribbean nation was pausing to honor “a true cultural giant whose music carried the heart of our nation to the world.”
“His music lifted people through hard times, inspired generations, and helped to shape the global respect that Jamaican culture enjoys today,” Holness added.
The English reggae band UB40 paid tribute on X, expressing disappointment on the loss of life of the “music icon and original reggae superstar.”
“He finally crossed over the last river,” they posted. “RIP Jimmy, your music will live forever.”
© 2025 AFP