Jimmy CliffThe Reggae Pioneer and actor who preached joy, defiance and resilience, has died at the age of 81 from health complications, via the Associated Press. He is known for hits like, ‘Many rivers to cross,’ ‘You can get it if you really want it’ and ‘Vietnam. ‘ Cliff also starred in the movie line ‘The Herver abaza.’
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Jimmy Cliff passes away after suffering from a seizure & pneumonia
Jimmy Cliff’s wife, Latifa Roomsconfirmed his death on Monday (November 24). Latifa and Cliff’s two children also post on the Reggae Star’s social media sites. The statement said he died of “aspiration followed by pneumonia.” Additional details were not immediately available.
“To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his career,” the announcement read. “He truly thanked each of his lovers for their love.”
Reggae singer prayed for the world’s crack ‘hard when they come’ movie
Jimmy Cliff was a native Jamaican with a gift for Catchphrases and Topical lyrics. He joined the emerging music scene in Kingston at a young age and helped lead a movement in the 1960s that included future stars such as Bob Marlert, Token Hibbert and Peter Tosh. In the early 1970s, he had accepted director Perry Henzell’s offer to star in a film about aspiring Reggae singer, Ivanhoe ‘Ivan’ Martin. Ivanhoe turns to crime when his work stalls. Henzell named the movie ‘The Herver Baza’ after suggesting the title as a possible Cliff song.
“Ivanhoe was a true Jamaican character,” Cliff told 2022 amid the film’s 50th anniversary. “When I was a little boy, I used to hear about him as a bad guy. A real bad guy. But then, he had a street hero who wanted to be afraid of the police, so he had HOLTS.”
If you didn’t know, ‘when they came hard’ they were delayed for about two years because of some money. However, it was the beginning of a big sale coming out of Jamaica. The film sold few tickets in its first run. Now, it stands as a cultural landmark. Its soundtrack alone has been called one of the greatest ever, but also an opportunity to exchange Reggae’s World Worldwide.
What else does he know about Jimmy’s work?
Jimmy Cliff’s career is reportedly going down ‘hard.’ However, after a break in the late 1970s, he worked solidly for decades – from stoner meetings to Wyclef Jean, stabbing Annie Lennox among others.
At that time, his first music came to life. The Sandinistas in Nicaragua used ‘you can get it if you really want it’ as a Campaign theme and Bruce SpringSteen helped expand Unathi’s live audience with his reggae cover ‘tied up.’ Others who performed his songs include John Lennon, Cher and UB40.
In addition, Jimmy Cliff won the Studen. His first win was in 1986 in 1986 with the ‘Cliff Hanger’ and in 2012 there were 201 for the ‘rebirth’, which many called the best work in years. His other albums include the Grammy-nominated ‘Power and Glory,’ ‘Humanity’ and 2022’s Fugitives released. ‘ Also, He performed in Steve Van Zandt’s anthem song, ‘The Sun is the City,’ and performed in the Robin Williams Comedy ‘Paradise Paradise,’ which contributed several songs to the soundtrack. He sang with Elvis Costello on the rocker ‘Seven for a Seven Day Weekend.’
Some of Jimmy Cliff’s honors include induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Jamaican Order of Merit. In 2019, the Jamaican government renamed the montego bay “hip strip” Jimmy Cliff Boulevard. Two years later, Jamaican officials presented Cliff with an official passport in recognition of his status as a Reggae ambassador.
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Associated Press National Writer Hillel Italie and reporter John Myers Jr. in Kingston, Jamaica, contributed to this report by AP Newsroom.
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