Reggae star Jimmy Cliff of Many Rivers to Cross fame dead at 81

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Jamaican reggae pioneer and actor Jimmy Cliff has died aged 81, his family said.

IN Monday morning social media poststhey say the tenor-voiced singer who wrote such classics as “Many Rivers to Cross,” “You Can Have It If You Really Want It” and “Vietnam” died of “a seizure followed by pneumonia.”

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Additional information was not immediately available.

“To all his fans around the world, please know that your support has been his strength throughout his career,” his family said in part.

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“He really appreciated every fan for their love.”

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Cliff was a teenager when he became part of Kingston's growing music scene in the '60s and became the leader of a band that included such future stars as Bob MarleyToots Hibbert and Peter Tosh.

In the early 70s, he agreed to the main role in The harder they come directed by Perry Henzell.

The film follows aspiring reggae musician Ivanhoe “Ivan” Martin, who turns to a life of crime when his career fails.

“Ivanhoe was a real character for Jamaicans” Cliff told Diversity in 2023 on the occasion of the film's 50th anniversary.

“When I was a little boy, I heard about him as a bad man. A very bad man. Nobody in Jamaica at that time had a gun. But he had a gun, and he shot a policeman, so he was something to be feared. But Perry wanted to make his name as a hero – an anti-hero, the way Hollywood turns its bad guys into heroes.”

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Being the first major commercial film to be released in Jamaica, the film was delayed for two years due to financing issues and was not an initial success despite critical acclaim from the likes of Roger Ebert and others.

However, it is now considered a touchstone for the development of reggae throughout the world, with one of the greatest soundtracks of all time.

EARLY YEARS

Born James Chambers in the suburb of St James, Cliff moved to Kingston as a youth to create early reggae music, first called ska and rocksteady, and enjoyed some local hits, including King of Kings and Miss Jamaica. He was also called upon to help represent his country at the 1964 World's Fair in New York.

“(Reggae) is pure music. It comes from the poorest class of people,” He said Rotate magazine in 2022. “It came from a need for recognition, identity and respect.”

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As soon as his profile grew in the second half of the 60s, he signed a contract with Island Reportsthe world's leading reggae label, and Island founder Chris Blackwell is trying in vain to sell it to rock audiences.

He scored a hit with a cover of Cat Stevens' “Wild World” and reached the UK top ten with Wonderful World, Beautiful People.

“In those days, few of us, descendants of Africans, managed to achieve at least some recognition,” He said Guardian in 2021.

“Music was easier than film. But when you start seeing your face and name on the side of buses in London, it's like, 'Wow, what's going on?'”

For a short time, Cliff rivaled Marley as the most prominent reggae artist with songs like the gospel track Many Rivers to Cross, which confronted '60s-era racism in England.

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“It was a very frustrating time. I came to England with very high hopes and saw my hopes fade,” he told Rolling Stone in 2012.

SESSION WORK

After reaching the peak with The harder they comeCliff took some time off in the late '70s, but for decades thereafter he was constantly working on sessions with the likes of The Rolling Stones, or collaborating with Wyclef Jean, Sting, Annie Lennox and Elvis Costello, among others.

A seven-time Grammy Award nominee, Cliff has won Best Reggae Album twice, first in 1986 for “Cliff Hanger” and in 2012 for “Rebirth,” which many consider his best work in years.

He was also among the performers on Steve Van Zandt's protest anthem “Sun City” and appeared in the Robin Williams comedy film “The Paradise Club”, for which he wrote several soundtrack songs.

Cliff was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

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