Reggae music pioneer, Jimmy Cliff, dies at 81

The legendary Jamaican singer, Jimmy Cliff, has been confirmed dead.

Cliff’s wife, Latifa Chambers, announced his death via a post on Facebook on Monday.

She said the cause was a seizure followed by pneumonia.

Born James Chambers on July 30, 1944 during a hurricane in St. James Parish, 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 just 14 he became nationally famous for the song “Hurricane Hattie,” which he wrote.

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Cliff, who along with Bob Marley popularised reggae, ska and rocksteady music over a six decade career, would go on to record over 30 albums and perform all over the world, including in Paris, in Brazil and at the World’s Fair, an international exhibition held in New York in 1964.

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

Cliff later went into acting, starring in the 1972 classic film “The Harder They Come,” directed by Perry Henzell, which introduced an international audience to reggae music.

The movie portrayed the grittier aspects of Jamaican life, redefining the island as more than a tourist playground of cocktails, beaches and waterfalls.

Cliff received the Order of Merit, the highest honour in the arts and sciences, from the Jamaican government. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

The Star