Reggae icon and The Harder They Come actor Jimmy Cliff has sadly died at the age of 81.
The singer’s family announced his death on Instagram, writing that he “crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia.” “To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career. He really appreciated each and every fan for their love,” his wife, Latifa, and children Lilty and Aken wrote. “Jimmy, my darling, may you rest in peace. I will follow your wishes. I hope you all can respect our privacy during these hard times. Further information will be provided at a later date. See you and we see you Legend.”
His wife, Latifa Chambers, also announced the news on social media.
“It’s with profound sadness that I share that my husband, Jimmy Cliff, has crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia,” Chambers said.
Cliff, a native Jamaican with a spirited tenor, joined Kingston’s emerging music scene in his teens and helped lead a movement in the 1960s that included such future stars as Bob Marley, Toots Hibbert and Peter Tosh. By the early 1970s, he had accepted director Perry Henzell’s offer to star in a film about an aspiring reggae musician, Ivanhoe “Ivan” Martin, who turns to crime when his career stalls. Henzell named the movie “The Harder They Come” after suggesting the title as a possible song for Cliff.
The song, “The Harder They Come,” went on to become a hit among others, propelling him to worldwide success. Cliff went on to become a pillar of Reggae, earning two GRAMMY awards, along with seven nominations. Beyond his standing as a reggae icon, Cliff also recorded with a host of prominent non-reggae artists such as Elvis Costello, The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon and several others. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, the only Jamaican apart from Bob Marley to achieve that honor.
Additionally, some of his iconic songs over the years include “Many Rivers to Cross”, “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” “I Can See Clearly Now”, “Wonderful World, Beautiful People”, “Reggae Night”, “Sitting in Limbo”, “Struggling Man”, “Vietnam”, and “Hakuna Matata” (from The Lion King).
“(Reggae) is a pure music. It was born of the poorer class of people,” he told Spin in 2022. “It came from the need for recognition, identity and respect.”