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Jimmy Cliff, real name James Chambers (born April 1, 1948, in St Catherine, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae musician, best known among mainstream audiences for songs like "Many Rivers to Cross" from The Harder They Come, a film soundtrack which helped break reggae into markets across the world.
Career
Cliff's career took off after his "Hurricane Hattie" became a hit; it was produced by Leslie Kong, with whom Cliff would remain until Kong's death. Later hit singles included "King of Kings" and "Pride and Passion", which never sold well outside Jamaica. In 1964 (see 1964 in music), Cliff was chosen as one of the Jamaican representatives at the World's Fair, and Cliff soon signed to Island Records and moved to Britain. His international debut was Hard Road to Travel, which received excellent reviews and included "Waterfall", a Brazilian hit that won the International Song Festival.
"Waterfall" was followed by "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" and "Vietnam", both popular throughout most of the world. Folk rock singer/songwriter Bob Dylan even called "Vietnam" the best protest song he'd ever heard. Wonderful World included a cover of "Wild World" (Cat Stevens), which was a success in 1970 (see 1970 in music).
Leslie Kong died of a heart attack in 1971 (see 1971 in music). The soundtrack to The Harder They Come (a Reggae film that also starred Cliff) was a huge success that sold well across the world, but did not break Cliff into the mainstream. After a series of albums, Cliff took a break and traveled to Africa, exploring his newfound Muslim spirituality. He quickly returned to music, touring for several years before he recorded with Kool & the Gang for Power & the Glory (1983; see 1983 in music). (In the early 1980s, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band added Cliff's little-known "Trapped" to their live set.) The follow-up, Cliff Hanger (1985; see 1985 in music) won a Grammy, though it was his last major success in the US until 1993 (see 1993 in music). He continued to sell well in Jamaica and, to a lesser extent, the UK, returning to the mainstream pop charts in the US and elsewhere with a version of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" on the Cool Runnings film soundtrack in 1993.
In 2002, Cliff released his new album, Fantastic Plastic People in Europe, after first providing free downloads using Delacove's People Music Media p2p software. This album featured collaborations with Joe Strummer, Annie Lennox, and Sting as well as new songs that were very reminiscent of Cliff's original hits. In 2004 Cliff completely reworked the songs, dropping the traditional reggae in favor of an electronica sound, for inclusion in Black Magic.
Trivia
About the song "One Cup of Coffee" www.Bobmarley.com says: "It would appear that Leslie Kong changed the name of Bob Marley to the almost kitsch Bobby Martell, the name that appeared on the Beverley's label, in much the same way that he changed James Chambers to Jimmy Cliff."
Cover versions of Jimmy Cliff songs
- The song "Many Rivers to Cross" was covered in 1982 by Joe Cocker on his album Sheffield Steel.
- His 1972 song "The Harder They Come" has been covered by Madness in 1992, Joe Jackson, Rancid, Willie Nelson, Joe Strummer, Jerry Garcia Band, Desmond Dekker and Me First & The Gimme Gimmes.
- New Order covered "Vietnam" on their 2003 compilation War Child: Hope.
- Bruce Springsteen covered "Trapped" live.
- La Toya Jackson covered "Reggae Nights", a Grammy award-winning song that she co-wrote, for her album No Relations.
Discography
- Hard Road to Travel (January 1968)
- Jimmy Cliff (December 1969)
- Another Cycle (September 1971)
- Unlimited (August 1973)
- Struggling Man (June 1974)
- House of Exile (December 1974)
- Brave Warrior (1975)
- Follow My Mind (November 1975)
- Give Thanx (1978)
- I Am The Living (July 1980)
- Give the People What They Want (September 1981)
- Special (July 1982)
- The Power and the Glory (October 1983)
- Cliff Hanger (August 1985)
- Club Paradise (1986)
- Hanging Fire (March 1988)
- Images (October 1989)
- Save Our Planet Earth (October 1990)
- Higher and Higher (May 1998)
- Humanitarian (June 1999)
- Fantastic Plastic People (2002)
- Black Magic (2004)
External links
1948 births | Living people | Jamaican musicians | Jamaican singers | Reggae musicians | First-wave ska groups | Saturday Night Live musical guests
"Jimmy Cliff"