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From Kingston to the world: Jamaican music and film legend Jimmy Cliff passes on at 81

2025-11-25 15:55
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From Kingston to the world: Jamaican music and film legend Jimmy Cliff passes on at 81

Cliff recorded over 30 albums in total, but his popularity skyrocketed after the low-budget Jamaican drama “The Harder They Come,” released in 1972, put him on the map as a cultural powerhouse.

‘His music lifted people through hard times, inspired generations, and [shaped global respect for] Jamaican culture’

Originally published on Global Voices

A microphone appears against a cracked background painted in the red, gold and green colours of Rastafari. Feature image created using Canva Pro elements.

Jamaican reggae icon Jimmy Cliff passed away on November 24, 2025, at the age of 81. His wife Latifa announced on social media that he had died of pneumonia, following a seizure. She expressed her thanks to everyone who shared his amazing life’s journey with him, including his fellow artists and his fans, whose “support was his strength throughout his whole career.”

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness paid tribute on X:

Cliff was the only living musician to hold the Order of Merit (OM), the highest honour that can be granted in Jamaica for achievements in the arts and sciences. Other political figures, including Opposition Leader Mark Golding, Mayor of Kingston Andrew Swaby, and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley also noted Cliff's global influence.

Born James Chambers on July 30, 1944, in Somerton, St. James — an area that was seriously impacted by Hurricane Melissa this year — Cliff was one of 10 siblings. Like many Jamaican musicians of the ’70s and beyond, he left his rural roots and moved to the city with his father at age 14, hoping to seek his fortune in the music business. By this time, the young Jimmy had already shown interest in music, writing songs and singing while still in primary school. As a boy, he was greatly influenced by church music (he sang in the choir), as well as soul, rock and roll, and Jamaican music.

In Kingston, Cliff wrote songs and competed in talent contests throughout his teenage years, perfecting his soulful voice and songwriting skills. He attended Kingston Technical High School, where he studied radio and television. According to the Jamaica Gleaner, his first break in the city was at the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour at the Palace Theatre. He also performed on many occasions with the popular Byron Lee Band. He encouraged record producer Leslie Kong to take him on, and his song “Hurricane Hattie” was a local hit at age 17.

Soon, Cliff’s work attracted the interest of Chris Blackwell, CEO of the groundbreaking label Island Records, who took him to England where he eventually captured a much wider audience among various sectors of society. Quite apart from the Windrush generation, Jamaican music was extremely popular among the “skinheads,” a working-class youth subculture of the late 1960s. His international debut album, “Hard Road to Travel,” was released in 1967 and warmly received. It included a cover of the song “Waterfall,” which became a hit in Brazil and won the International Song Festival. In 1969, “Wonderful World, Beautiful People,” followed by “Vietnam” in 1970 became major international hits. Cliff also recorded his own version of Cat Stevens’ “Wild World,” which reached the UK Top Ten.

Cliff recorded over 30 albums in total, his last being 2022’s “Refugees,” inspired by the humanitarian crises in various parts of the world. He won Reggae Grammy Awards for “Cliff Hanger” (1985) and “Rebirth” (2012). Until recently, he continued to enjoy touring globally. Although several of his hits were covered by other singers in various genres, Cliff's popularity skyrocketed after the low-budget Jamaican drama “The Harder They Come,” released in 1972, put him on the map as a cultural powerhouse. In the film, directed by Jamaican-born Perry Henzell and co-written with Trevor Rhone, Cliff played Ivan, a struggling young man from the country who seeks to make a name for himself in the city. Negative experiences with the police and other authority figures transform Ivan into a gunman, “Rhygin,” who becomes an outlaw.

Even more impactful than the storyline was the film’s soundtrack, which became a cult classic. The title song, along with several others by Cliff, included tunes by Desmond Dekker and Toots and the Maytals. In 2021, the album was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry. In 2024, Rolling Stone named it the third greatest soundtrack of all time.

In another important film connection, Cliff’s version of Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now,” featured on the soundtrack to the hit 1993 film Cool Runnings, also became a worldwide hit — and in 2011, Cliff’s full-length album “Rebirth” won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album and was included in Rolling Stone’s “50 Best Albums of 2012.”

In a thread of posts on X, Henzell's daughter, Justine, shared heartfelt insights, including a memory of Cliff enjoying a performance of the musical “The Harder They Come” at a London theatre in 2006.

Media and film activist Barbara Blake Hannah noted her personal involvement with Cliff, and with the film:

The U.S. Embassy in Jamaica paid tribute, noting that Cliff had been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 by his good friend and fellow musician Wyclef Jean:

Cliff’s songs of struggle and social justice influenced many other musicians. In the late 1960s, Bob Dylan called his song “Vietnam” the greatest protest song of all time, while veteran musician Bruce Springsteen, still on the tour circuit, has incorporated Cliff’s song “Trapped” into his dynamic live repertoire.

American singer Tracy Chapman, meanwhile, shared an on-stage memory:

Ali Campbell, a member of the British reggae band UB40, also shared his thoughts:

Cultural commentator Wayne Chen described Cliff as “Jamaica’s first home-grown global star”:

According to an obituary in the Washington Post, Cliff wasn’t comfortable being pigeonholed. He told the newspaper in a 2004 interview, “I didn’t really want to be known just as the King of Reggae; I actually wanted to be known as the King of Music!” — and in many ways, he was. While introducing the world to Jamaican music, including reggae — Bob Marley quickly followed in his footsteps on the Island Records label — it was the universal appeal of his music that set Jimmy Cliff apart.

Jamaican economist Keenan Falconer observed:

Having grown up in a volatile area, Cliff — with his signature dry humour — once admitted that he might well have pursued a similar career to Ivan, the anti-hero of “The Harder They Come,” had it not been for the fact that his family would never have forgiven him. Jamaica and the wider world remain thankful that he took a different route on life’s journey.

Written by Emma Lewis

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