"Born James Chambers, Jimmy Cliff was a star of stage and screen, as well known for his role in the revolutionary cult film The Harder They Come as for his export of ska and reggae music across the Atlantic and back to North America. His breakout in late 1960s London followed a determined rise out of poverty in Jamaica, where he had graduated from playing Elvis Presley covers in singing contests to releasing a string of ska hits"
"Upon arriving in Britain, however, Cliff "found people were not really into reggae music," as he told Vivien Goldman in 1979. "They were more into American R&B, so I started to blend the two." That fusion came to bear on his first two albums, released by Island: 1967's Hard Road to Travel and his self-titled 1969 LP. The latter album spawned a UK Top 10 single in "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" (which lent its title to later pressings of the album), as well as "Vietnam," which Bob Dylan is said to have called "the best protest song ever written.""
Jimmy Cliff was a Jamaican singer and actor who helped globalize ska and reggae and starred in the cult film The Harder They Come. Born James Chambers, he rose from poverty, moving from Elvis Presley covers to a string of ska hits driven by the electric bass that energized Kingston. He signed as a teenager to Island Records in Britain, blended reggae with American R&B, and released early albums including Hard Road to Travel and his 1969 self-titled LP. That LP produced "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" and "Vietnam," the latter widely praised as a potent protest song. Cliff's music intersected with Jamaica's social upheaval and supported working-class aspirations. He died at 81 after a seizure followed by pneumonia.
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