Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff dies, aged 81

Jimmy Cliff, one of the outstanding and beloved proponents of reggae music, has died on the age of 81.

A star for the reason that Nineteen Sixties, he helped to carry the sound of Jamaica to a worldwide viewers by way of hits corresponding to Fantastic World, Lovely Folks and You Can Get It If You Actually Need.

His lead position as a gun-toting insurgent within the 1972 crime drama The Tougher They Come is a cornerstone of Jamaican cinema, and was attributed because the film that introduced reggae to America.

Cliff’s spouse, Latifa Chambers, introduced his loss of life by way of an announcement on Instagram.

“It is with profound disappointment that I share that my husband, Jimmy Cliff, has crossed over because of a seizure adopted by pneumonia,” she wrote.

“I’m grateful for his household, mates, fellow artists and coworkers who’ve shared his journey with him.

“To all his followers world wide, please know that your help was his power all through his complete profession.

“Jimmy, my darling, might you relaxation in peace. I’ll observe your needs.”

Her message was additionally signed by their youngsters, Lilty and Aken.

Born James Chambers in 1944, Cliff grew up because the eighth of 9 youngsters in abject poverty within the parish of St. James, Jamaica.

Blessed with a candy, mellifluous voice, he started singing at his native church on the age of six.

By the point he was 14, he’d moved to Kingston and adopted the surname Cliff to specific the heights he supposed on reaching.

He recorded a number of singles earlier than topping the Jamaican charts together with his personal composition, Hurricane Hattie.

In 1965, he relocated to London to work with Island Data – later the house of Bob Marley – however the label’s makes an attempt to make his sound palatable to rock audiences weren’t solely profitable at first.

He ultimately struck gold with the 1969 single Fantastic World, Lovely Folks – an upbeat, feelgood anthem; and the extra politically-charged Vietnam, which Bob Dylan referred to as “the very best protest music ever written”.

Its lyric tells the story of a younger soldier who writes from the battle, promising his mom he’ll be residence quickly; just for her to obtain a telegram the following day, informing her of his loss of life.

Cliff mirrored on the music in 1986, telling reggae archivist Roger Steffens: “The essence of my music is battle. What offers it the icing is the hope of affection.”

Cliff grew to become a global star with The Tougher They Come, expressly written for the film of the identical title, during which he performed Ivan Martin, a younger man making an attempt to interrupt into Jamaica’s corrupt music business.

“The movie opened the door for Jamaica,” Cliff recalled. “It stated, ‘That is the place this music comes from.'”

Cliff contributed 4 songs to the soundtrack, together with the gospel hymn Many Rivers To Cross, which mirrored his early days as a struggling artist within the UK.

“I used to be nonetheless in my teenagers,” he later recalled. “I got here filled with vigour: I will make it, I will be up there with the Beatles and the Stones.”

“And it wasn’t actually going like that, I used to be touring golf equipment, not breaking by way of. I used to be struggling, with work, life, my identification. I could not discover my place. Frustration fuelled the music.”

As a substitute, the movie and its soundtrack gained him worldwide acclaim. Rolling Stone journal even named it one in every of their high 500 albums of all time.

Throughout the Eighties, he collaborated with the Rolling Stones on their Soiled Work album, and he returned to the US charts in 1993 together with his cowl of I Can See Clearly Now, from the soundtrack for Cool Runnings, which adopted the escapades of Jamaica’s bobsled crew.

His different recordings included the Grammy Award-winning albums Cliff Hanger (1985) and Rebirth (2012), a nostalgic return to kind.

Cliff entered the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame in 2010, calling it “an incredible thrill and an honour”.

Inducting him, Fugees star Wyclef Jean stated he’d been impressed by Cliff’s success as a younger boy rising up in Haiti.

“Once we noticed Jimmy Cliff, we noticed ourselves,” he stated.

Cliff continued to tour late into his life, enjoying Glastonbury’s legends slot in 2003; and profitable over a brand new technology of followers on the 2010 Coachella Pageant.

His contributions to Jamaican music and tradition had been recognised in October 2003 when he was awarded the nation’s prestigious Order of Benefit.

However the singer stated his connection to followers was extra essential than any of the opposite honours bestowed upon him.

Chatting with US radio station NPR in 2012, he mirrored: “When somebody comes as much as me and says, ‘I used to be a dropout in class and I heard your music You Can Get It If You Actually Need, and that music made me return to highschool, and now I’m a instructor and I take advantage of your music with my college students’ – that, for me, is a giant success.”