KINGSTON, Jamaica — International reggae and ska legend Jimmy Cliff has died at the age of 81 following a battle with pneumonia, his family announced Monday.
The iconic musician, whose career spanned over five decades and helped popularize Jamaican music worldwide, passed away after a seizure that was followed by a struggle with the illness.
His wife, Latifa Chambers, shared the news on his official social media pages, expressing gratitude for the global outpouring of support for his legacy.
“I am thankful for his family, friends, fellow artists and coworkers who have shared his journey with him. To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career. He really appreciated each and every fan for their love,” she said.
She concluded with a personal message: “Jimmy, my darling, may you rest in peace. I will follow your wishes. I hope you all can respect our privacy during these hard times.”
A career that defined a genre
Born James Chambers in Saint James, Jamaica, on July 30, 1944, Cliff showed musical talent from a young age.
He secured his first hit song, “Hurricane Hattie,” at just 14 years old, shortly after moving to Kingston to pursue a career in music.
By his mid-twenties, he had achieved global recognition with the release of the singles “Wonderful World, Beautiful People” and the powerful anti-war anthem “Vietnam,” which cemented his reputation as a socially conscious artist.
In 1965, Cliff moved to London under the invitation of Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, where he expanded his musical palette to incorporate soul and rhythm & blues, driving his sound further toward what would become classic reggae.
His album Wonderful World, Beautiful People became an international success and was credited with inspiring Paul Simon to explore reggae music.
The harder they come legacy
Cliff’s career reached a pivotal moment with his starring role in the 1972 crime film, “The Harder They Come.” The film, for which Cliff also provided the seminal soundtrack, is widely recognized for introducing Jamaican culture and reggae music to a global mainstream audience.
Cliff initially hesitated to take the acting role, requiring writer-director Perry Henzell to fly to the UK to convince him.
Recalling the moment in a 2022 interview with The Independent, Cliff explained the decisive factor:
“He said one sentence to me that stopped me in my tracks,” Cliff recalled. “He said, ‘I think you’re a better actor than a singer’. I said to myself: wow! Nobody ever said that to me before, and I had always thought that! Somebody’s reading my mind! It happened like that. I cancelled the European tour that I was planning, and went to do the movie.”
Also Read: Hulk Hogan, wrestling icon who transformed WWE, dies aged 71
Despite the film’s massive success, Cliff returned to his focus on music afterward.
“I went into it thinking, I’m going to do this piece of work with my life, and when I’m finished I’ll go back to touring,” he said. “That’s how I looked at it.”
Hits and accolades
Cliff’s best-known creations include the uplifting anthem ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want’ and his iconic rendition of Johnny Nash’s ‘I Can See Clearly Now’, which he successfully transformed into his own signature hit.
His cover of Cat Stevens’ classic, ‘Wild World’, further demonstrated Cliff’s ability to infuse recognizable songs with his distinct reggae and pop-ska flair.
Over a career spanning more than 50 years, Jimmy Cliff released 33 albums. His later work included the 2022 record Refugees. The title track, inspired by “what’s happening all over the world,” marked his first collaboration with Wyclef Jean, who had inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
Cliff’s career was decorated with multiple honors, including Grammy Awards for the albums Cliff Hanger (1985) and Rebirth (2012).
