Reggae Legend Jimmy Cliff Dies at 81

Jimmy Cliff, the charismatic reggae legend and actor who preached joy, defiance and resilience in his classics, has died at 81.

Cliff’s wife, Latifa Chambers, announced his death on social media on Monday, adding that the cause was a seizure followed by pneumonia.

Born James Chambers on July 30, 1944, during a hurricane in St James Parish in northwestern Jamaica, he moved in the 1950s from the family farm to the country’s capital, Kingston, with his father, determined to succeed in the music industry.

At 14, he became nationally famous for the song Hurricane Hattie, which he wrote. Cliff would go on to record more than 30 albums and perform all over the world, including in Paris, Brazil and at the World’s Fair in New York in 1964.

The following year, Chris Blackwell of Island Records, the producer who launched Bob Marley and the Wailers, invited Cliff to work in the United Kingdom with him.

Cliff later went into acting, starring in the 1972 classic film The Harder They Come, directed by Perry Henzell. The film has been credited with introducing an international audience to reggae music.

In 2012, he won a Grammy Award for best reggae album for Rebirth, which was produced by the punk band Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, as well as another Grammy in 1984 for Cliff Hanger.

Source: Aljazeera