Reggae Legend Jimmy Cliff Dies at 81

Jimmy Cliff, the reggae legend who helped spark the genre’s rise around the world, has died at 81. Cliff's wife, Latifa Chambers, announced the news via a statement on Instagram that was also signed by their children, Lilty and Aken.

"It's with profound sadness that I share that my husband, Jimmy Cliff, has crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia," she wrote.

"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 whole career. Jimmy, my darling, may you rest in peace. I will follow your wishes."

Cliff was born James Chambers in 1944, eighth of nine children in the parish of St. James, Jamaica. Little Jimmy began singing at his local church at age six. He was inspired to write original songs after he’d heard ska legend Derrick Morgan on the radio. He would move to London and sign with Island Records in the mid-1960s. He eventually scored a hit with “Vietnam” in 1970, which Bob Dylan would call "the best protest song ever written.”

Cliff’s most famous moment was starring in the 1972 classic The Harder They Come. The movie and its accompanying soundtrack is credited with bringing reggae to the United States. His performance of the movie’s theme song, “Many Rivers To Cross,” would become a standard and his signature song. 

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in a statement: "His music lifted people through hard times, inspired generations, and helped to shape the global respect that Jamaican culture enjoys today."

Cliff is one of two Jamaicans inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Bob Marley. He was inducted in 2010, with a speech from Wyclef Jean.