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James Chambers (30 July 1944 – 24 November 2025), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and Soul music musician. He was considered to be one of Jamaica's most celebrated musicians and was credited with helping to popularise reggae music internationally. At the time of his death, he was the 4th reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences. He was also nominated seven times for the Grammy Awards, winning twice.
Cliff starred in The Harder They Come (1972), the first major commercial film from Jamaica. The soundtrack helped to make reggae widely known. He was known for such songs as "Many Rivers to Cross", "If I Follow My Mind", "You Can Get It If You Really Want", "The Harder They Come", "Reggae Night", and his cover version of Cat Stevens's "Wild World", Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" (from the Cool Runnings soundtrack) and "Hakuna Matata". Cliff was one of five performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. He was one of only two Jamaicans in the Hall of Fame, the other being Bob Marley.
Jimmy Cliff made deliberate, multifaceted efforts to reach across cultural and racial lines and appeal to a mainstream audience. He pursued strategic record deals that gave him access to the primarily white UK market, covered well-known pop and rock songs such as Cat Stevens' "Wild World", which reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart in 1970, and placed his music in popular films including the 1988 hit Cocktail, which featured his song "Shelter of Your Love". Through these efforts Cliff reached a broader global audience while remaining true to his reggae roots, and was widely credited with helping to popularize reggae worldwide.
Cliff's later local hit singles included "King of Kings", "Dearest Beverley", "Miss Jamaica", and "Pride and Passion". In 1964 he was chosen as one of Jamaica's representatives at the 1964 New York World's Fair. That same year Cliff was featured in a program called This is Ska! alongside Prince Buster, Toots and the Maytals, and Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.Jw31209. "This Is Ska! (2/4) 1964 Jimmy Cliff/Prince Buster/Toots & The Maytals and More..." YouTube. YouTube, 5 February 2010. Web.<> 2 December 2016.
He signed to Island Records and moved to the United Kingdom. Island Records initially (and unsuccessfully) tried to sell Cliff to the rock music audience. His career took off in the late 1960s and his international debut album, Hard Road to Travel, was released in 1967. It received excellent reviews and included "Waterfall" (composed by Nirvana's Alex Spyropoulos and Patrick Campbell-Lyons), which became a hit in Brazil and won the International Song Festival.
"Waterfall" was followed in 1969 by "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" and "Vietnam" in 1970, both popular throughout most of the world. He released "Many Rivers to Cross" about his struggles with the music industry in 1969. The song was covered by many other artists including Cher, UB40, and John Lennon. Cliff also released a cover version of Cat Stevens's "Wild World" as a single.
In 1972, Cliff starred as Rhyging (known as Rhyging) in Perry Henzell's classic reggae film The Harder They Come. As the film tells Martin's story, he is a young man without funds. Arriving in Kingston from the country, he tries to make it in the recording business but without success. Eventually he turns to a life of crime. The soundtrack album sold well around the world, bringing reggae to an international audience for the first time. When it was released the film broke box office records in Jamaica and remains one of the most internationally significant films to have come out of Jamaica since the nation's independence from the United Kingdom. The film made its debut at London's Gaumont cinema in Notting Hill on 1 September 1972. Paul Simon recorded "Mother and Child Reunion" with Cliff's backing band.
In 1976, Cliff sang "The Harder They Come", "Many Rivers to Cross" and "Wahjahka Man" on the first season of Saturday Night Live, episode 12, hosted by Dick Cavett. After a series of albums, Cliff took a break and travelled to Africa. The Nigeria-based Jamaican writer Lindsay Barrett was instrumental in his first trip there and subsequently converted to Islam, taking the name of El Hadj Naïm Bachir.
Cliff provided backing vocalist on The Rolling Stones' 1986 album Dirty Work. He co-starred in the comedy Club Paradise with Robin Williams and Peter O'Toole and contributed several songs to the soundtrack, duetting with Elvis Costello on "Seven Day Weekend". Cliff toured North America with Steve Winwood for two months as the opening act during August–October 1986. His song "Shelter of Your Love" was featured in the 1988 film Cocktail.
Cliff appeared in the film Marked for Death in 1990, performing "John Crow" with the Jimmy Cliff Band. His recording of "You Can Get It If You Really Want" was used as a campaign anthem by the Sandinista National Liberation Front in the 1990 election in Nicaragua. In 1991, he performed at the second Rock in Rio festival in Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He continued to sell well in Jamaica and to a lesser extent in the UK, returning to the mainstream pop charts in the US and elsewhere (#1 in France) with a version of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" on the Cool Runnings soundtrack in 1993. In 1995, Cliff released a collaboration with Lebo M, the single "Hakuna Matata", a song from the soundtrack of The Lion King.
Cliff performed at the opening ceremony of the 2007 Cricket World Cup. That year, "You Can Get It If You Really Want" was adopted by the British Conservative Party during their annual conference. He was quoted in The Independent as saying: "One of my band mates called me this morning to tell me the news. I can't stop them using the song, but I'm not a supporter of politics. I have heard of David Cameron, but I'm not a supporter. I don't support any politician. I just believe in right or wrong."
In September 2009, Cliff was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, following a campaign on his behalf by the American Charles Earle. Cliff reacted to the news by saying, "This is good for Cliff, good for Jamaican music and good for my country." On 15 December 2009, he was announced as an inductee and was inducted on 15 March 2010 by Wyclef Jean. Cliff is one of only two Jamaicans in the Hall of Fame, the other being Bob Marley. In the spring and summer of 2010 he embarked on an extensive tour of the U.S. and Canada.
Cliff appeared in the 2011 documentary Reggae Got Soul: The Story of Toots and the Maytals, which was featured on BBC."Toots and the Maytals: Reggae Got Soul". BBC Four (documentary). Directed by George Scott. UK. 2011. 59 min. Retrieved 15 December 2016. In 2011, Cliff worked with producer Tim Armstrong, lead singer of American punk band Rancid, on the EP The Sacred Fire and the full-length album Rebirth. Rebirth won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. The album was listed at number 12 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the top 50 albums of 2012 with the description: "There's ska, rock steady, roots reggae, a revelatory cover of The Clash's 'Guns of Brixton' delivered in Cliff's trademark soulful tenor, grittier but still lovely more than 40 years after his debut."
In December 2012, Cliff was named Artist of the Year by digital newspaper Caribbean Journal, citing his work on Rebirth. In August 2022, Cliff released the album Refugees.
On 24 November 2025, Cliff's wife announced that he had died that morning from pneumonia. He had been hospitalised following a seizure. He was 81. Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in a public statement after his death, said that Cliff's music "lifted people through hard times, inspired generations, and helped to shape the global respect that Jamaica enjoys today."
Cliff's role in The Harder They Come received praise and the film's soundtrack was credited with spreading reggae music's influence outside of Jamaica. The film was also the first major commercial film release from the country. The Grammy Awards, in an appraisal of the soundtrack fifty years after the film's release, wrote that his performance was "riveting and authentic", while recognizing that parts of the film were based on things Cliff had personally seen. In 2020, the soundtrack was added to the United States Library of Congress's National Recording Registry. Cliff recalled, "When someone comes up to me and says, 'I was a dropout in school and I heard your song "You Can Get It If You Really Want", and that song made me go back to school, and now I am a teacher and I use your song with my students' — that, for me, is a big success."
| 1967 | Hard Road to Travel | — | |
| 1968 | Jimmy Cliff in Brazil | — | |
| 1969 | Jimmy Cliff | — | |
| 1971 | Goodbye Yesterday | — | |
| Another Cycle | — | ||
| 1972 | The Harder They Come | — | |
| 1973 | Unlimited | — | |
| Struggling Man | — | ||
| 1974 | Music Maker | — | |
| 1975 | Brave Warrior | — | |
| Follow My Mind | — | ||
| 1978 | Give Thankx | — | |
| 1980 | I Am the Living | — | |
| 1981 | Give the People What They Want | — | |
| 1982 | Special | — | |
| 1983 | The Power and the Glory | — | |
| 1985 | Cliff Hanger | — | |
| 1987 | Hanging Fire | — | |
| Shout for Freedom | — | ||
| 1989 | Images | — | |
| 1992 | Breakout | — | |
| 1996 | Higher & Higher | — | |
| 1998 | Journey of a Lifetime | — | |
| 1999 | Humanitarian | — | |
| 2002 | Fantastic Plastic People | — | |
| 2004 | Black Magic | 11 | |
| 2012 | Rebirth | 1 | |
| 2022 | Refugees | — |
Notes
| 1975 | The Best of Jimmy Cliff | — | |
| Pop Chronik | — | ||
| 1976 | In Concert: The Best of Jimmy Cliff | — | |
| 1979 | Oh Jamaica | — | |
| 1981 | Collection | — | |
| 1982 | Reggae Nights: The Best of Jimmy Cliff | — | |
| 1985 | Reggae Greats | — | |
| 1987 | Fundamental Reggay | — | |
| 1988 | The Best Of | — | |
| 1994 | Gold Collection | — | |
| 1995 | Reggae Classics: The Very Best of Jimmy Cliff | — | |
| Many Rivers to Cross | — | ||
| Definitive Collection | — | ||
| Reggae Man | — | ||
| Vol. 2 | — | ||
| 1996 | Best of Jimmy Cliff | — | |
| 1997 | Super Hits | — | |
| Jimmy Cliff | — | ||
| 100% Pure Reggae | — | ||
| 1999 | Ultimate Collection | 8 | |
| Millenium Collection | — | ||
| Wonderful World Beautiful People | — | ||
| 2000 | Simply the Best | — | |
| Super Best | — | ||
| Wanted | — | ||
| The Messenger: The Very Best of Reggae's Original Soul Star | — | ||
| Wonderful World | — | ||
| 2001 | Les Indispensables de Jimmy Cliff | — | |
| 2002 | We All Are One: The Best of Jimmy Cliff | — | |
| 2003 | Many Rivers to Cross: The Best of Jimmy Cliff | — | |
| Anthology | — | ||
| Island Reggae Classics | — | ||
| 2004 | 20th Century Masters | — | |
| Reggae Night | — | ||
| This Is Crucial Reggae | — | ||
| The EMI Years 1973–1975 | — | ||
| Timeless Hits | — | ||
| 2005 | The Harder They Come: The Definitive Collection | — | |
| 2006 | The Essential Jimmy Cliff | — | |
| The Very Best of Jimmy Cliff & Peter Tosh | — | ||
| The Harder They Come: The Early Years 1962–1972 | — | ||
| Better Days Are Coming: The A&M Years 1969–1971 | — | ||
| 2008 | King of Kings: The Very Best of Jimmy Cliff | — | |
| Reggae Legends | — | ||
| 2010 | Harder Road to Travel: The Collection | — | |
| 2013 | Jimmy Cliff | — | |
| The KCRW Session | 4 | ||
| Icon | 15 |
| 1962 | "Hurricane Hatty" | — | Harder Road to Travel: The Collection |
| "Miss Jamaica" | — | ||
| "Since Lately" | — | ||
| 1963 | "King of Kings" | — | |
| "My Lucky Day" | — | ||
| "The Man" | — | ||
| 1966 | "Pride and Passion" | — | Hard Road to Travel |
| 1967 | "Give and Take" | — | |
| "I Got a Feeling" | — | ||
| "That's the Way Life Goes" | — | Jimmy Cliff | |
| 1968 | "Vietnam" | — | |
| 1969 | "Waterfall" | — | The Harder They Come |
| "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" | 25 | Jimmy Cliff | |
| 1970 | "Come into My Life" | 89 | |
| "Sufferin' in the Land" | — | ||
| "Where Did It Go" | — | The Essential Jimmy Cliff | |
| "Wild World" | — | Wild World | |
| "You Can Get It If You Really Want" | — | Jimmy Cliff | |
| "Synthetic World" | — | Goodbye Yesterday | |
| 1971 | "Goodbye Yesterday" | — | |
| "Those Good Good Old Days" | — | Struggling Man | |
| "Sitting in Limbo" | — | Another Cycle | |
| 1972 | "The Harder They Come" | — | The Harder They Come |
| "Struggling Man" | — | Struggling Man | |
| 1973 | "Let's Seize the Time" | — | |
| "On My Life" | — | Unlimited | |
| "Fundamental Reggay" | — | ||
| "Oh Jamaica" | — | ||
| 1974 | "Music Maker" | — | Music Maker |
| "Look What You Done to My Life, Devil Woman" | — | ||
| "Money Won't Save You" | — | ||
| "Don't Let It Die" | — | Brave Warrior | |
| 1975 | "Every Tub" | — | |
| "If I Follow My Mind" | — | Follow My Mind | |
| 1976 | "Look at the Mountains" | — | |
| "Dear Mother" | — | ||
| 1977 | "Material World" | — | Give the People What They Want |
| "Deal with Life" | — | single only | |
| 1978 | "Treat the Youths Right" | — | Special |
| "Bongo Man" | — | Give Thankx | |
| "Stand Up and Fight Back" | — | ||
| 1979 | "Love I Need" | — | |
| 1980 | "All the Strength We Got" | — | I Am the Living |
| "Another Summer" | — | ||
| "I Am the Living" | — | ||
| 1981 | "Son of Man" | — | Give the People What They Want |
| "Shelter of Your Love" | — | ||
| "My Philosophy" | — | ||
| 1982 | "Rub-A-Dub Partner" | — | Special |
| "Love Is All" | — | ||
| "Special" | — | ||
| "Roots Radical" | — | ||
| "Peace Officer" | — | ||
| "Love Heights" | — | ||
| 1983 | "Reggae Night" | — | The Power and the Glory |
| "We All Are One" | — | ||
| "Sunshine in the Music" | — | ||
| 1984 | "Reggae Movement" | — | single only |
| "Black Bess" | — | ||
| "De Youths Dem a Bawl" | — | ||
| 1985 | "Hot Shot" | — | Cliff Hanger |
| "American Sweet" | — | ||
| "Reggae Street" | — | ||
| 1986 | "Seven-Day Weekend" (with Elvis Costello) | — | Club Paradise |
| "Club Paradise" | — | ||
| 1987 | "Roots Girl (Step Aside)" | — | single only |
| "Rebel in Me" | — | Images | |
| "Hanging Fire" | — | Hanging Fire | |
| "Reggae Down Babylon" | — | ||
| "Soar Like an Eagle" | — | ||
| 1988 | "Love Me Love Me" | — | |
| 1989 | "Pressure on Botha" (with Josey Wales) | — | Images |
| "Trapped" | — | ||
| "Dance Reggae Dance" | — | Save Our Planet Earth | |
| "Save Our Planet Earth" | — | ||
| 1992 | "Breakout" | — | Breakout |
| "I'm a Winner" | — | ||
| "Peace" | — | ||
| 1993 | "Samba Reggae" | — | |
| "Many Rivers to Cross" | — | Jimmy Cliff | |
| "I Can See Clearly Now" | 18 | Cool Runnings: Music from the Motion Picture | |
| 1994 | "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" | 117 | Higher & Higher |
| 1995 | "Hakuna Matata" (with Lebo M) | 105 | Rhythm of the Pride Lands |
| "Melody Tempo Harmony" (with Bernard Lavilliers) | — | single only | |
| 1999 | "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" | — | Humanitarian |
| 2002 | "Fantastic Plastic People" | — | Fantastic Plastic People |
| 2004 | "Jamaica Time" (with David A. Stewart) | — | Black Magic |
| 2011 | "Guns of Brixton" | — | Sacred Fire EP |
| 2012 | "One More" | — | Rebirth |
| 2013 | "C'mon Get Happy" | — | single only |
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