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Jimmy Cliff -
Best Of Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff, OM (born
James Chambers, 1
April 1948)[2] is a
Jamaican reggae musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and actor. He is the only living musician to hold the
Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the
Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences.
Cliff is best known among mainstream audiences for songs such as "
Wonderful World, Beautiful People", "
The Harder They Come", "
Sitting in Limbo", "
You Can Get It If You Really Want" and "
Many Rivers to Cross" from the soundtrack to The Harder They Come, which helped popularize reggae
across the world,[3] and his covers of
Cat Stevens' "
Wild World" and
Johnny Nash's "
I Can See Clearly Now" from the film
Cool Runnings. He starred in the film The Harder They Come. Cliff was one of five performers inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
2010.
Jimmy Cliff was born in
Somerton District,
St. James, Jamaica.[4] He began writing songs while still at primary school in
St. James, listening to a neighbour's sound system. In 1962 his father took him to
Kingston to go to Kingston
Technical school, where he ended up sharing his cousin's one rented room in
East Kingston.
Cliff sought out many producers while still going to school, trying to get his songs recorded without success. He also entered talent contests. "One night I was walking past a record store and restaurant as they were closing, pushed myself in and convinced one of them,
Leslie Kong, to go into the recording business, starting with me," he writes in his own website biography.[3] After two
singles that failed to make much impression, his career took off when "
Hurricane Hattie" became a hit, while he was aged 14.[5] It was produced by
Kong, with whom Cliff remained until Kong's death from a heart attack in
1971.
Cliff's later local hit singles included "
King of Kings", "
Dearest Beverley", "
Miss Jamaica", and "
Pride and
Passion". In 1964, Cliff was chosen as one of
Jamaica's representatives at the world's fair. He soon signed to
Island Records and moved to the
United Kingdom.[5] Island Records initially (and unsuccessfully) tried to sell Cliff to the rock audience, but his career took off in the late
1960s.[6] His international debut
album was
Hard Road to Travel, 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.[5]
"Waterfall" was followed in
1969 by "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" and "
Vietnam" in
1970, both popular throughout most of the world.
Bob Dylan called "Vietnam" the best protest song he had ever heard.[3] Also during this period, Cliff released a cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World" as a single, but it was not included on his Wonderful World, Beautiful People album.
In
1972, Cliff starred as
Ivanhoe "
Ivan"
Martin in the classic reggae film, The Harder They Come, directed by
Perry Henzell.[7] 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 of the film was a huge success that sold well across the world, bringing reggae to an international audience for the first time. It remains one of the most internationally significant films to have come out of Jamaica since independence. The film made its debut at
London's Gaumont cinema in
Notting Hill on
1 September 1972.[8] In
1975, Cliff sang on the first season of
Saturday Night Live, episode 12, hosted by
Dick Cavett. After a series of albums, Cliff took a break and traveled to
Africa (the Nigeria-based Jamaican writer
Lindsay Barrett was instrumental in Cliff's first trip there),[9] and subsequently converted to
Islam,
"
Jimmy Cliff-Bongo Man (A Come)",
"Jimmy Cliff-The
Harder They Come",
"Five-Keep on
Movin'",
"
Various Artists-Vietnam",
"Jimmy Cliff-Wonderful
World,
"Jimmy Cliff-Many Rivers To
Cross",
"Jimmy Cliff-Come
Into My Life (
Single Version)",
"Jimmy Cliff-Rebel
In Me",
"Jimmy Cliff-Hard
Road To
Travel",
"
Hitch (
Motion Picture Soundtrack)-You Can Get It If You Really Want",
"Jimmy Cliff-Trust No Man",
"Jimmy Cliff-Miss Jamaica"
"
Ultimate'', ''
Reggae Roots'', ''Rock Steady'', ''Ska'', ''Mix'', ''Reggae'', ''old school reggae'', ''reggae mix'', ''reggae hits'', ''dancehall'', ''roots reggae'', ''classics'', ''lovers rock'', ''love songs'', ''ultimate reggae'',
''ultimate dancehall'', ''dub step'',''Jjustice Da
Great'', ''Jjustice
Sound'', ''killamanjaro'', ''ninja man'', ''stone love'', ''mighty crown'', ''dancehall
- published: 02 Mar 2015
- views: 39361