Jimmy Cliff, Pioneering Reggae Star, Dies at 81
Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican singer widely credited with introducing reggae to a global audience before Bob Marley‘s rise to fame, has died at the age of 81. His wife announced his passing on November 24, citing an epileptic seizure and pneumonia as the cause. Cliff’s early hits, including “Many Rivers to Cross” in 1969 and the title song from the groundbreaking 1972 film The Harder They Come, propelled both his career and the genre onto the international stage.
Before becoming a household name himself, Cliff played a pivotal role in launching the career of Bob Marley. He facilitated Marley’s first solo recordings – “Judge Not!” and ”One Cup of Coffee” – and introduced him to producer Leslie Kong, owner of the Beverley’s record label. Despite his own meaningful contributions to reggae’s popularization, Cliff later expressed a degree of bitterness over the disparity in early earnings between himself and The Wailers, recalling receiving only one shilling for his initial recordings while Marley’s group earned two books (approximately 50 euros) per week at studio One.
Cliff’s breakthrough came with “Many Rivers to Cross,” which gained further recognition through covers by artists like Joe Cocker. He cemented his status as a reggae icon with The Harder They Come, a film in which he starred as the lead character, becoming the first international star of the genre. He continued to record prolifically, releasing 34 albums throughout his career, and earned a second Grammy Award in 2012 for his album Rebirth. While Marley’s career experienced a meteoric rise before his death in 1981, Cliff maintained a consistent presence, ensuring reggae’s enduring legacy.
