Jimmy Cliff, pioneer of reggae, precursor of Bob Marley and one of the main people responsible for popularizing the genre around the world, has died at the age of 81 following a complicated pneumonia. This is what his wife, Latifa Chambers, announced on social networks: “I thank his family, friends, artists and colleagues for having shared this journey with him.”
Cliff’s musical career began in 1961, when he was only 17 years old, with the song ‘Hurricane Hattie’. However, he would not record his first album until 1970, with ‘Wonderful World, Beautiful People’. James Chambers, real name, was a key player in making reggae known around the world. The breakthrough came in 1972 with the film ‘The Harder They Come’, starring himself.
It is one of the most important films in Jamaican cinema, but the soundtrack is the one that received all the fame, introducing reggae to the United States and marking the perfect path for world stars like Bob Marley. ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want’ or ‘The Harder They Come’ have become classics of the genre, and the latter has been covered by artists such as Joe Strummer, Madness or Willie Nelson.
Throughout his career, Cliff has recorded with figures such as Kool & The Gang, The Rolling Stones, Annie Lennox and Sting, but he has not only been recognized by his colleagues. He won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2012 for ‘Rebirth’ and Best Reggae Recording in 1986 for ‘Cliff Hanger’. Additionally, along with Bob Marley, he is one of only two Jamaican members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
See this post on Instagram
