I first heard Jimmy Cliff in a way that felt a little dangerous which now feels wonderfully fitting. I was supposed to be at school and instead I snuck out with a friend and we ended up in his parents living room with a battered VHS copy of The Harder They Come. They were both at work so we had the place to ourselves. We slipped the tape into the machine and as soon as the film started I was hooked. It was the music of course and the story and the rawness of it all. Watching Jimmy Cliff fill the screen with that presence while those songs played felt electric and real. His voice was melodic and grooving and dangerous all at the same time and even through the fuzzy picture and tiny speakers the energy hit me like a wave. I loved his music from that day and I still do. It has stayed with me all my life.
Jimmy Cliff, born James Chambers on 30 July 1944 in the Somerton District of St James in Jamaica, has died at eighty one. He was the last surviving reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit which is the highest honour the Jamaican government can give in the arts and sciences. His wife Latifa Chambers shared that he passed after a seizure followed by pneumonia and she thanked fans for the support that carried him throughout his career. It is a poignant reminder of how deeply he connected with people across the world.
He was the second youngest of nine children and grew up listening to a neighbour’s sound system. He began writing songs in primary school and by fourteen his father had taken him to Kingston where he adopted the name Jimmy Cliff and spent his teenage years searching for someone who would help him record his music. He convinced producer Leslie Kong to take a chance on him and by seventeen he had his first hit with Hurricane Hattie. From that moment he became one of the defining voices of Jamaican music.
His early singles included King of Kings, Miss Jamaica and Pride and Passion. He represented Jamaica at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York and appeared in This Is Ska! alongside Prince Buster and Toots and the Maytals. After signing with Island Records he moved to the United Kingdom where his international career began to grow. His 1967 album Hard Road to Travel received strong reviews and Waterfall became a hit in Brazil. He followed with Wonderful World Beautiful People and Vietnam. Bob Dylan famously called Vietnam the greatest protest song he had ever heard.
Then came the pivotal moment. In 1972 Cliff starred as Ivanhoe Martin in The Harder They Come, bringing the grit and truth of Jamaican life to the world. The soundtrack became a cornerstone of reggae and remains one of the most important cultural works ever to come from Jamaica. That was the VHS I first discovered as a kid and I can still feel the impact of that moment. It was the first time I understood how music and storytelling could collide so powerfully.
Cliff’s career continued to evolve for decades. He performed on the first season of Saturday Night Live then travelled through Africa and returned with renewed inspiration. He recorded with Kool and the Gang he appeared in Club Paradise, he performed at Rock in Rio he sang backing vocals for the Rolling Stones and he consistently found new audiences. Bruce Springsteen helped bring attention to Trapped during the mid eighties. His album Cliff Hanger won a Grammy in 1986 and decades later Rebirth won another. His version of I Can See Clearly Now for Cool Runnings put him back at the top of charts around the world.
He collaborated with Joe Strummer Annie Lennox and Sting. He was awarded the Order of Merit in 2003 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 by Wyclef Jean who called him one of the true innovators in modern music. His later albums included Fantastic Plastic People, Black Magic and most recently Refugees. Jimmy Cliff’s music always carried a sense of uplift and resilience. Songs like Many Rivers to Cross, You Can Get It If You Really Want, Follow My Mind, The Harder They Come and Reggae Night were hopeful and defiant and joyful. His later covers like Hakuna Matata and I Can See Clearly Now connected with new listeners who felt the same spark I first felt all those years ago in my friend’s living room.
Jimmy Cliff did not just popularise reggae. He made people feel something universal and lasting. His music shaped my love for melody storytelling and truth in song.
Produce Like A Pro
R.I.P. Jimmy Cliff
I first heard Jimmy Cliff in a way that felt a little dangerous which now feels wonderfully fitting. I was supposed to be at school and instead I snuck out with a friend and we ended up in his parents living room with a battered VHS copy of The Harder They Come. They were both at work so we had the place to ourselves. We slipped the tape into the machine and as soon as the film started I was hooked. It was the music of course and the story and the rawness of it all. Watching Jimmy Cliff fill the screen with that presence while those songs played felt electric and real. His voice was melodic and grooving and dangerous all at the same time and even through the fuzzy picture and tiny speakers the energy hit me like a wave. I loved his music from that day and I still do. It has stayed with me all my life.
Jimmy Cliff, born James Chambers on 30 July 1944 in the Somerton District of St James in Jamaica, has died at eighty one. He was the last surviving reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit which is the highest honour the Jamaican government can give in the arts and sciences. His wife Latifa Chambers shared that he passed after a seizure followed by pneumonia and she thanked fans for the support that carried him throughout his career. It is a poignant reminder of how deeply he connected with people across the world.
He was the second youngest of nine children and grew up listening to a neighbour’s sound system. He began writing songs in primary school and by fourteen his father had taken him to Kingston where he adopted the name Jimmy Cliff and spent his teenage years searching for someone who would help him record his music. He convinced producer Leslie Kong to take a chance on him and by seventeen he had his first hit with Hurricane Hattie. From that moment he became one of the defining voices of Jamaican music.
His early singles included King of Kings, Miss Jamaica and Pride and Passion. He represented Jamaica at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York and appeared in This Is Ska! alongside Prince Buster and Toots and the Maytals. After signing with Island Records he moved to the United Kingdom where his international career began to grow. His 1967 album Hard Road to Travel received strong reviews and Waterfall became a hit in Brazil. He followed with Wonderful World Beautiful People and Vietnam. Bob Dylan famously called Vietnam the greatest protest song he had ever heard.
Then came the pivotal moment. In 1972 Cliff starred as Ivanhoe Martin in The Harder They Come, bringing the grit and truth of Jamaican life to the world. The soundtrack became a cornerstone of reggae and remains one of the most important cultural works ever to come from Jamaica. That was the VHS I first discovered as a kid and I can still feel the impact of that moment. It was the first time I understood how music and storytelling could collide so powerfully.
Cliff’s career continued to evolve for decades. He performed on the first season of Saturday Night Live then travelled through Africa and returned with renewed inspiration. He recorded with Kool and the Gang he appeared in Club Paradise, he performed at Rock in Rio he sang backing vocals for the Rolling Stones and he consistently found new audiences. Bruce Springsteen helped bring attention to Trapped during the mid eighties. His album Cliff Hanger won a Grammy in 1986 and decades later Rebirth won another. His version of I Can See Clearly Now for Cool Runnings put him back at the top of charts around the world.
He collaborated with Joe Strummer Annie Lennox and Sting. He was awarded the Order of Merit in 2003 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 by Wyclef Jean who called him one of the true innovators in modern music. His later albums included Fantastic Plastic People, Black Magic and most recently Refugees.
Jimmy Cliff’s music always carried a sense of uplift and resilience. Songs like Many Rivers to Cross, You Can Get It If You Really Want, Follow My Mind, The Harder They Come and Reggae Night were hopeful and defiant and joyful. His later covers like Hakuna Matata and I Can See Clearly Now connected with new listeners who felt the same spark I first felt all those years ago in my friend’s living room.
Jimmy Cliff did not just popularise reggae. He made people feel something universal and lasting. His music shaped my love for melody storytelling and truth in song.
May he rest in peace.
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