Jimmy Cliff, the legendary Jamaican singer, died in Kingston on Sunday. He was 81. Along with Bob Marley, he popularized reggae, ska, and rocksteady music over a six-decade career. The cause was a seizure followed by pneumonia.
James Chambers was born on July 30, 1944, during a hurricane in St James Parish, Jamaica. In the 1950s, he moved from the family farm to the country’s capital, Kingston, with his father. He was determined to succeed in the music industry. At just 14 he became nationally famous for the song ‘Hurricane Hattie’, which he wrote.
Cliff would go on to record over 30 albums. He would perform all over the world. This includes performances in Paris, Brazil and at the World Fair, an international exhibition held in New York in 1964.
The following year, Chris Blackwell from Island Records invited Cliff to work with him in Britain. Blackwell is the producer who launched Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Cliff later went into acting. He starred in the 1972 classic film The Harder They Come. It was directed by Perry Henzell. This film introduced an international audience to reggae music. The movie portrayed the grittier aspects of Jamaican life. It redefined the island as more than a tourist playground of cocktails, beaches, and waterfalls.
“Once I’ve achieved all my ambitions, I’ll have accomplished it. I can then just say ‘great’,” he said in a 2019 interview, as he was losing his sight.
Cliff is known in part for singles ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want It’ and ‘Many Rivers To Cross’. He is also famous for his covers of Johnny Nash’s ‘I Can See Clearly Now’, which appeared on the soundtrack of the 1993 movie, Cool Runnings. Additionally, he covered Cat Stevens’ ‘Wild World’. Cliff was a prolific writer who weaved his humanitarian views into his songs.
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