Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
jimmy cliff, Like the Jamaican star behind hit songs “If you really want it, you can have it.” and “I Can See Clearly Now” has died at the age of 81.
The news was announced by his wife Latifah in a post on Cliff’s official Instagram page, saying: “I am very sad to announce that my husband, jimmy cliff, The attack has passed due to pneumonia.
“I am grateful to his family, friends, fellow artists and colleagues who have shared his journey with him. To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his career.”
Latifah said her husband appreciated “every fan” for the love they showed him, while also thanking the medical team who were “extremely supportive and helpful during this difficult process.”
“Jimmy, my dear, rest in peace,” she said. “I will follow your wishes. I hope you can all respect our privacy during this difficult time.”
Their message was co-signed by the couple’s children, Lilti and Aiken.
Born James Chambers on July 30, 1944, in the poor village of Somerton, Jamaica, he was one of nine children raised by his father in a three-bedroom house. His amazing voice made him a local celebrity at the age of six, singing in his local church.
Hearing Jamaican music on the radio inspired him to pursue a career as a singer; He moved to Kingston when he was 12, and just two years later he scored his first hit, “Hurricane Hattie”.
“Kingston was harsh,” he told Independent In a 2003 interview, “Because in the city you don’t know anyone. You can’t go to your neighbor like in the country and say, ‘I’m hungry, give me something.’
“But by the time I got there, I was ready to face any situation. Even at such a young age, I knew what I wanted to do. I had songs that I had written, and I wanted to record them. I didn’t care about money. It was about exposing my art.”
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. conditions apply.
Advertisement. If you sign up for this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism at The Independent.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. conditions apply.
Advertisement. If you sign up for this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism at The Independent.
He achieved international success in his mid-twenties thanks to his singles “Wonderful World, Beautiful People” and “Vietnam”, the latter of which was dubbed “the best protest song ever” by none other than Bob Dylan.
A leading role in the 1972 crime film the harder They Come, For which he also provided the soundtrack, he is widely credited with helping to bring Jamaican culture to the rest of the world.
Yet he did not initially agree with the idea; To convince him, writer-director Perry Henzell had to go to the UK, where Cliff was preparing for an extensive tour.
“He said one sentence to me that stopped me in my tracks,” Cliff recalled. In a 2022 interview Independent. “He said, ‘I think you’re a better actor than a singer.’ I said to myself: Wow! No one had ever told me that before, and I always thought so! Someone is reading my mind! Same thing happened. I canceled the European tour I had planned and went to do the film.
With Cliff’s own music, the harder They Come The soundtrack featured acts such as Toots and the Maytals and Desmond Dekker.
Despite the film’s massive success both domestically and overseas, Cliff returned to his music career after its release. He said, “I went into it thinking I would do this for the rest of my life and when I was done I would go back on tour.” “That’s the way I saw it.”
In a career spanning more than 50 years, Cliff has released 33 albums, his latest record being 2022 Refugee. The title track was inspired by “What’s Going On All Over the World” and was his first collaboration with Wyclef Jean, whom he met when the Fugees star inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
Their cover of American singer-songwriter Johnny Nash’s song, “I Can See Clearly Now”, was featured in the 1993 film great race , It is loosely based on the Jamaican bobsleigh team that competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics – and peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard 100.
Another famous cover of Joseph/Cat Stevens’ “Wild World” came about when he walked into the Island Records office in early 1970 and heard his publisher playing the demo. At the time, Stevens was unsure whether to release it: “I told him I loved this song and if he didn’t want to record it, I would,” Cliff recalled. Independent.
“I put it there! I didn’t want to remove it because she might change her mind.” Cliff recorded the song the very next day and achieved his first top 10 single in the UK: “It was a hit, so I was obviously very happy, and then Cat Stevens decided to record it herself.”
He was one of a handful of musicians to be awarded the Jamaica Order of Merit, along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer.
While many fans believed that Cliff’s throne was “stolen” by fellow reggae star Marley, who was signed to Island after him, he insisted that he had no regrets in moving away from reggae to rock and soul.
“I thought, ‘If I put me in this little bag, I’m going to suffocate. How am I going to say what else I want to say?'” he explained. “And that’s been a big struggle in my career. They say, ‘You’re Jamaican, you’re known for reggae,’ so you should do it. But I wouldn’t do that.
“I felt like, ‘I’ve done my part; now I’m on another path.’ Others thought I was wrong, that I could have been like Bob. But I liked it. “Exploring the new is fundamental to me.”