Jimmy Cliff

At 76 years old, Jimmy Cliff physical status not available right now. We will update Jimmy Cliff's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

James Chambers, OM (born 1 April 1948), better known as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska and reggae performer, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor.

He and Bunny Wailer are the only two living musicians to receive the Order of Merit, the highest award that the Jamaican government can bestowe for contributions to the arts and sciences. Cliff is best known for his songs "Wonderful World, Beautiful People," "Many Rivers to Cross," "You Can Get It If You Really Want," "The Old World," "Reggae Night," and "Hakuna Matata," as well as his interpretations of Cat Stevens' "Wild World" and "I Can See Clearly Now" from the film Cool Runnings.

He appeared in the film The Harder They Come, which helped popularize reggae around the world, and Club Paradise.

Cliff was one of five artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

Early life and education

Jimmy Cliff was born in Saint James, Colony of Jamaica, on July 30th, 1944. He began writing songs while still attending a primary school in St. James and listening to a neighbor's sound system. When Chambers was 14 years old, his father took him to Kingston, where he would take up the stage name Jimmy Cliff.

Personal life

Cliff was briefly a member of the Rastafari movement before converting to Islam from Christianity. "Now I believe in science" and has described himself as having a "universal outlook on life" rather than identifying himself with any particular cause or faith. He is married and has a daughter, Lilty Cliff, and a son, Aken Cliff. He is also the father of actress/singer Nabiyah Behne.

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Career

When going back to school, Cliff sought out several designers in an attempt to get his songs to be released without success. He has also participated in talent competitions. "I was strolling past a record store and restaurant closing one night, I pushed myself in and told Leslie Kong, one of them, to enter the recording business, beginning with me," he writes on his own website biography. When "Hurricane Hattie" became a hit when he was 14 years old, following two singles that failed to make a good impression. It was made by Kong, with whom Cliff stayed until his death in 1971 from a heart attack.

"King of Kings," "Dearest Beverley," "Miss Jamaica," and "Pride and Passion" were among Cliff's later local hit singles. Cliff was chosen as one of Jamaica's representatives at the World's Fair in New York in 1964, and the same year Cliff was featured in a program titled "This is Ska." Prince Buster, Toots and the Maytals, as well as Byron Lee and the Dragonaires were among the Dragonaires on tour.

He quickly signed to Island Records and moved to the United Kingdom. Island Records tried to sell Cliff to the rock audience at first (and unsuccessfully), but his career was unstoppable in the late 1960s. Hard Road to Travel, his first album, was released in 1967. It received rave reviews and features "Waterfall" (composed by Nirvana's Alex Spyropoulos and Patrick Campbell-Lyons), which became a hit in Brazil and championed the International Song Festival.

In 1969, "Waterfall" was followed by "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" and "Vivietnam," which were both common throughout the world. Bob Dylan called "Vietnam" the best protest song he had ever heard. Cliff also released a cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World" as a single, but it wasn't included on his Wonderful World, Beautiful People album.

Cliff appeared in The Harder They Come (1972), directed by Perry Henzell, as Ivan "Ivan" Martin. Martin's story is told in the film: he is a young man in need of funds. He arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, and hopes to make it in the recording industry, but there is no success. He returns from a life of crime later in life. The film's soundtrack album was a huge success around the world, bringing reggae to a global audience for the first time. It's one of the most important films to have come out of Jamaica since independence. On September 1, 1972, the film made its debut at the Gaumont cinema in Notting Hill, London.

Cliff appeared on the first season of Saturday Night Live, episode 12, hosted by Dick Cavett. Cliff took a break and went to Africa (the Nigeria-based Jamaican writer Lindsay Barrett was instrumental in Cliff's first visit there), then converted to Islam, with the name El Hadj Naz Bachir.

Cliff soon returned to music, touring for many years before he joined Kool & the Gang. Cliff appeared at the Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, Netherlands, in 1984. Cliff's previously little-known song "Trapped" was added to their live set during Bruce Springsteen's 1985 World Service Award performance; it gained a following. Cliff Hanger (1985), the sequel, received a Grammy Award for 'Best Reggae Album,' but it was his last major success in the United States until 1993. Cliff also contributed to the 1985 hit "Sun City," a protest song composed by Steven Van Zandt and released by Artists United Against Apartheid to protest apartheid's South African policy.

Cliff later sang on The Rolling Stones' 1986 album Dirty Work, co-starring Robin Williams and Peter O'Toole, and performed with several songs on the soundtrack, including "Seven Days Weekend," which he performed with Elvis Costello. In 1988, his song "Shelter of Your Love" was included in the 1988 film Cocktail.

Cliff appeared in the film Marked for Death in 1990, appearing "John Crow" with the Jimmy Cliff Band. In the 1990 Nicaraguan election, the Sandinista National Liberation Front's recording of "You Can Get It If You Really Want" was used as a campaign anthem. He appeared at the second Rock in Rio festival in Estádio do Maracane, Brazil, in 1991. He continued to sell in Jamaica and, to a lesser extent, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere (#1 in France) with a copy of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" on the Cool Runnings film soundtrack in 1993. Cliff released the single "Hakuna Matata," a song from Lebo M's soundtrack. Cliff appeared in an episode of the Cartoon Network talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast in 1997.

Cliff became the inaugural member of the Independent Music Awards' judging panel in 2001 to promote independent artists. Cliff released the album Fantastic Plastic People in Europe in 2002 after first providing free downloads using p2p software. This collection featured collaborations with Joe Strummer, Annie Lennox, and Sting, as well as new songs that were very reminiscent of Cliff's original hits. Cliff reworked the songs in 2004, abandoning the traditional reggae in favour of an electronic device for inclusion in Black Magic. Joe Strummer's album also included a recording of "Over the Border." Cliff performed at the closing ceremonies to the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and in 2003, his song "You Can Get It If You Really Want" was included in the film's soundtrack, "Some's Gotta Give." He appeared at the Paléo Festival in Nyon, Switzerland, in July 2003. Cliff was honoured by the Jamaican government under P. J. Patterson on October 20, 2003, the country's fourth highest honour, for his contributions to Jamaica's film and music. Cliff and Mervyn Morris are the only living figures from the arts to hold this honor, and Cliff is the only living musician to do so.

Cliff appeared at the opening ceremony at the World Cup in 2007. Cliff embarked on a lengthy tour of the United States and Canada in the spring and summer of 2010. At their annual conference in 2007, the British Conservative Party's "You Can Get It If You Really Want" was introduced. In The Independent, he said, "One of my band mates called me this morning to tell me the news." I can't prevent them from using the song, but I am not a promoter of democracy. I have heard of Cameron, but I am not a fan. I don't endorse any politician. I don't care if it's right or wrong," says the author.

Following a fight for his cause by American Earl Earle in September 2009, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in September 2009. Cliff responded to the reports by saying, "This is good for Cliff, good for Jamaican music, and it is also good for my countries." He was officially inducted into the Army on December 15, 2009, and Wyclef Jean announced him as an inductee on January 15, 2010.

Cliff was featured in the 2011 documentary Reggae Got Soul: The Story of Toots and the Maytals, which was broadcast on BBC and described as "The untold tale of one of Jamaica's most popular artists ever to come out of Jamaica."

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 in 2011. Rebirth received the 'Best Reggae Album' Grammy Award. The album debuted at number two on Rolling Stone's list of the top 50 albums of 2012, with "There's ska, rock steady, roots reggae, a surprise cover of The Clash's "Guns of Brixton" delivered in Cliff's grittier but also lovely more than 40 years since his debut," the album was ranked at #12 on the top 50 albums of the year.

Cliff was voted 'Artist of the Year' by the Caribbean Journal in December 2012, quoting his work on Rebirth.

Cliff published the album Refugees in August 2022.

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