Jimmy Cliff, the iconic reggae star who helped transform the island's rhythmic music into a global cultural phenomenon, has died, his wife said on Monday, November 24. He was 81.
Jimmy Cliff, in Rabat, Morocco, in 2012. FADEL SENNA / AFP
"It is with profound sadness that I share that my husband, Jimmy Cliff, has crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia," his wife Latifa Chambers wrote on his official Instagram account. "I am thankful for his family, friends, fellow artists and coworkers who have shared his journey with him. To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his who career."
Over four decades Cliff wrote and sang songs that fused reggae with his sensibilities for folk, soul, ska and rock music, and addressed issues like politics, poverty, injustice and war protest. Cliff, a multi-instrumentalist and singer of hits like "You Can Get It If You Really Want" and "The Harder They Come," is widely seen as reggae's most influential figure after the late Bob Marley, with whom he collaborated early in Marley's career.
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