Rest In Power: Notable Black Folks Who We’ve Lost In 2025 - Page 14

13. Jimmy Cliff

Born James Chambers on July 30, 1944, Cliff’s journey into music began when he would listen to local sound systems as a young student. At the age of 14, Cliff’s father took him to Kingston, which is where he adopted his stage name.

After urging Chinese-Jamaican Leslie Kong to back his music career, Cliff began recording records and notched several local hits for Kong’s label. Cliff remained with Kong’s label until 1971 and even served as an A&R, bringing a young Bob Marley into the fold and helping him cut his first records.

Cliff would move on to sign with Island Records, and while the union was rocky at the start, Cliff became a vanguard of the early reggae sound as it shifted from its precursor, ska, and albums such as 1967’s Hard Road to Travel were not only responsible for Cliff’s growing fame but also the prominence of reggae.

In 1972, Cliff starred in the film The Harder They Come as Ivanhoe “Ivan” Martin, a singer hoping to make it in the music business in Kingston, but turns to crime when his career fails to pan out. The film is considered one of the most important pieces of art to emerge from Jamaica and turned all eyes towards the reggae sound.

Rest In Power: Notable Black Folks Who We’ve Lost In 2025 - Page 14 was originally published on blackamericaweb.com