Jimmy Cliff, the reggae music pioneer whose role in the 1972 film The Harder They Come and its accompanying soundtrack was instrumental in introducing the genre to international audiences, has died at the age of 81.
According to an Instagram post by Cliff’s wife, Latifa Chambers, the musician died due to complications from a seizure followed by pneumonia. “Jimmy, my darling, may you rest in peace,” Chambers wrote in her post. “To all his fans around the world,” she added, “please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career.”
Born James Chambers, but known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, the musician was affectionally known as the “Jamaican Bob Dylan.” The real Bob Dylan himself once called Cliff’s 1970 track “Vietnam” the best protest song he had ever heard. Cliff scored a series of early hits with songs like “Many Rivers to Cross” and “You Can Get It If You Really Want” in the late 1960s, but his big break came with the 1972 Jamaican crime film The Harder They Come.
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Initially hired just to compose the film’s soundtrack, Cliff eventually was also cast in the lead role as Ivanhoe “Ivan” Martin. Both the film and the soundtrack, led the Cliff-sung title track, were massive hits at the time of their release, and have endured as defining works in Jamaica’s pop culture canon.
The success of of The Harder They Come turned Cliff into an international star, leading to a tour of America and a musical guest slot during the first season of Saturday Night Live. However, in the late 1970s, Cliff briefly took a break from music, traveled to Africa, and converted to Islam. His musical output resumed in 1978 with the release of Give Thankx.
His work in the 1980s included collaborations with Koool & the Gang, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, and Steve Van Zandt. In 1986, he earned his first Grammy Award when his album Cliff Hanger was the recipient of Best Reggae Recording.
In the 1990s, his cover of “I Can See Clearly Now” was featured on the Cool Runnings film soundtrack, and he recorded an alternate version of “Hakuna Matata” for The Lion King soundtrack.
Cliff was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, and earned his second Grammy Award in 2012 for the album Rebirth. His final album, Refugees, was released in 2022.