James Chambers (30 July 1944 – 24 November 2025), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician. He was considered to be one of Jamaica's most celebrated musicians and was credited with helping to popularise reggae music internationally. At the time of his death he was the 4th reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences. He was also nominated seven times for the Grammy Awards, winning twice.
Jimmy Cliff made deliberate, multifaceted efforts to reach across cultural and racial lines and appeal to a mainstream audience. He pursued strategic record deals that gave him access to the primarily white UK market,[3] covered well-known pop and rock songs such as Cat Stevens' "Wild World", which reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart in 1970,[4] and placed his music in popular films including the 1988 hit Cocktail, which featured his song "Shelter of Your Love".[5] Through these efforts Cliff reached a broader global audience while remaining true to his reggae roots, and was widely credited with helping to popularize reggae worldwide.[6][7]
Early life and education
Jimmy Cliff was born James Chambers on 30 July 1944 in Saint James, Colony of Jamaica, the second youngest of nine children.[8][9][10] He began writing songs while still at primary school in St. James, listening to a neighbour's sound system. When he was 14 years old his father took him to Kingston, where he adopted the stage name Jimmy Cliff,[11] "an allusion to the career heights he hoped to scale."[2]
Career
1960s and 1970s
Cliff sought out producers while he was still at school, trying without success to get his songs recorded, and he entered talent contests. "One night I was walking past a record store and restaurant as they were closing, pushed myself in and convinced one of them, Leslie Kong, to go into the recording business, starting with me", Cliff wrote in his own website biography.[12] After two singles that failed to make much impression, his career took off when "Hurricane Hattie" became a hit when he was 17.[13] The record was produced by Kong, with whom Cliff remained until Kong's death from a heart attack in 1971.[14]
He signed to Island Records and moved to the United Kingdom.[13] Island Records initially (and unsuccessfully) tried to sell Cliff to the rock audience. His career took off in the late 1960s[16] and his international debut album, Hard Road to Travel, was released in 1967. It received excellent reviews and included "Waterfall" (composed by Nirvana's Alex Spyropoulos and Patrick Campbell-Lyons), which became a hit in Brazil and won the International Song Festival.[13]
In 1972, Cliff starred as Vincent "Ivanhoe" Martin (known as Rhyging) in Perry Henzell's classic reggae film The Harder They Come.[19] As the film tells Martin's story, he is a young man without funds. Arriving in Kingston from the country, he tries to make it in the recording business but without success. Eventually he turns to a life of crime. The soundtrack album sold well around the world, bringing reggae to an international audience for the first time.[20] When it was released the film broke box office records in Jamaica[17] and remains one of the most internationally significant films to have come out of Jamaica since the nation's independence from the United Kingdom. The film made its debut at London's Gaumont cinema in Notting Hill on 1 September 1972.[20]Paul Simon recorded "Mother and Child Reunion" with Cliff's backing band.[17]
In 1976, Cliff sang on the first season of Saturday Night Live, episode 12, hosted by Dick Cavett. After a series of albums, Cliff took a break and travelled to Africa. The Nigeria-based Jamaican writer Lindsay Barrett was instrumental in his first trip there[21] and subsequently converted to Islam, taking the name of El Hadj Naïm Bachir.[22][23]
In 2001, Cliff became an inaugural member of the Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists.[33] In 2002 he released the album Fantastic Plastic People in Europe, after first providing free downloads using p2p software.[34] This album featured collaborations with Joe Strummer, Annie Lennox, and Sting, as well as new songs that were reminiscent of Cliff's original hits. In 2004, Cliff completely reworked the songs, dropping the reggae in favour of an electronic sound, for inclusion in Black Magic. The album also included a recording of "Over the Border" with Strummer. Cliff performed at the closing ceremony to the 2002 Commonwealth Games. In 2003, "You Can Get It If You Really Want" was included in the soundtrack to the film Something's Gotta Give. He appeared in July 2003 at the Paléo Festival in Nyon, Switzerland. The Jamaican government under P. J. Patterson honoured Cliff on 20 October 2003 by awarding him The Order of Merit, the nation's fourth-highest honour, in recognition of his contributions to the film and music of Jamaica.[24]
Cliff performed at the opening ceremony of the 2007 Cricket World Cup. That year, "You Can Get It If You Really Want" was adopted by the British Conservative Party during their annual conference.[30] He was quoted in The Independent as saying: "One of my band mates called me this morning to tell me the news. I can't stop them using the song, but I'm not a supporter of politics. I have heard of Cameron, but I'm not a supporter. I don't support any politician. I just believe in right or wrong."[30]
In September 2009, Cliff was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, following a campaign on his behalf by the American Charles Earle.[35] Cliff reacted to the news by saying, "This is good for Cliff, good for Jamaican music and good for my country." On 15 December 2009, he was announced as an inductee and was inducted on 15 March 2010 by Wyclef Jean.[36] Cliff is one of only two Jamaicans in the Hall of Fame, the other being Bob Marley.[37] In the spring and summer of 2010 he embarked on an extensive tour of the U.S. and Canada.
Cliff appeared in the 2011 documentary Reggae Got Soul: The Story of Toots and the Maytals, which was featured on BBC.[38][39][40] In 2011, Cliff worked with producer Tim Armstrong, lead singer of American punk band Rancid, on the EP The Sacred Fire[41] and the full-length album Rebirth.[42]Rebirth won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.[43] The album was listed at number 12 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the top 50 albums of 2012 with the description: "There's ska, rock steady, roots reggae, a revelatory cover of The Clash's 'Guns of Brixton' delivered in Cliff's trademark soulful tenor, grittier but still lovely more than 40 years after his debut."[44]
In December 2012, Cliff was named Artist of the Year by digital newspaper Caribbean Journal, citing his work on Rebirth.[45] In August 2022, Cliff released the album Refugees.[46]
Personal life and death
Cliff was briefly a member of the Rastafari movement before converting to Islam from Christianity.[47] In a 2013 interview he said he had a "universal outlook on life" and did not align himself with any particular movement or religion,[47][48] adding, "now I believe in science".[47] Cliff was married and had several children. From a relationship with the British film director Bluette Abrahams he fathered a daughter, Odessa Chambers.[49] From his marriage to Latifa Chambers, a daughter Lilty and son Aken.[24] In 1992 he became the father to the Brazilian actress/singer Nabiyah Be through a relationship with the psychologist Sônia Gomes.[50][51]
On 24 November 2025, Cliff's wife announced that he had died that morning from pneumonia. He had been hospitalised following a seizure. Cliff was 81.[52][53] Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in a public statement after his death, said that Cliff's music "lifted people through hard times, inspired generations, and helped to shape the global respect that Jamaica enjoys today."[37]
Legacy
Cliff performing in 1997
Cliff was considered one of Jamaica's most celebrated musicians and is credited with having helped to popularise reggae internationally.[17][54][55] He was briefly described as rivalling Bob Marley as the most prominent musician in the genre.[56] Writing for The Guardian, David Katz called him an "itinerant ambassador who introduced the music and culture of his island to audiences across the globe",[17] and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's website described him as "reggae's first champion".[55]Bob Dylan called "Vietnam" the best protest song he had ever heard.[12] Cliff was nominated for the Grammy Awards seven times and won twice, both wins being for Best Reggae Album.[37][57] He also received the Order of Merit, the country's highest honor for the arts and sciences.[58]
Cliff's role in The Harder They Come received praise[57] and the film's soundtrack was credited with spreading reggae music's influence outside of Jamaica.[37][54][58] The film was also the first major commercial film release from the country.[56] The Grammy Awards, in an appraisal of the soundtrack fifty years after the film's release, wrote that his performance was "riveting and authentic", while recognizing that parts of the film were based on things Cliff had personally seen.[57] In 2020, the soundtrack was added to the United States Library of Congress's National Recording Registry.[59] Cliff recalled, "When someone comes up to me and says, 'I was a dropout in school and I heard your song "You Can Get It If You Really Want", and that song made me go back to school, and now I am a teacher and I use your song with my students' — that, for me, is a big success."[2]
Discography
This is a list of Cliff's main albums, compilations and singles.[60]
A. ^Hard Road to Travel was released as Can't Get Enough of It in Jamaica in 1968 with minor changes in track listing.
B. ^Jimmy Cliff in Brazil consisted of new recordings as well as songs from Hard Road to Travel and Can't Get Enough of It. It was re-released in 1994.
C. ^Jimmy Cliff was released as Wonderful World, Beautiful People in the US in 1970.
D. ^Goodbye Yesterday was released as Two Worlds in Jamaica with minor changes in track listing.
E. ^Unlimited was re-released as The King of Reggae in 1976.
F. ^Struggling Man consisted of new recordings as well as songs from Wild World.
G. ^Music Maker was released as House of Exile in some territories.
H. ^Breakout was re-released as Samba Reggae in some territories in 1999 with minor changes in track listing.
I. ^Higher & Higher consists of new recordings as well as previously released material.
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