By Gideon Njoku
Popular Jamaican born music icon, Jimmy Cliff is dead.
The Grammy award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, musician, actor, singer, songwriter, producer, and humanitarian died at the age of 83 years.
Cliff, according to reports, passed on from a combination of seizure and pneumonia.
His wife announced the news of his death on Monday, November 24, 2025, in a Facebook post.
She wrote:
“It’s with profound sadness that I share that my husband, Jimmy Cliff, has crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia. I am thankful for his family, friends, fellow artists, and coworkers who have shared his journey with him.
“To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career. He really appreciated each and every fan for their love.
:I also wanted to thank Dr. Couceyro and the whole medical staff, as they have been extremely supportive and helpful during this difficult process.
:Jimmy, my darling, may you rest in peace. I will follow your wishes. I hope you all can respect our privacy during these hard times.
“Further information will be provided at a later date. See you, and we see you, Legend.”
Named James Chambers at birth, Cliff introduced reggae to an international audience through his performance in the landmark film “The Harder They Come”
.
His recording started soon after he moved from the countryside to Kingston. He made a number of singles and topped Jamaican charts with his song, Hurricane Hattie,
one of his very early effort for Leslie Kong’s Beverly Records, according to the Jamaica Information Service (JIS).
Several more hits where he combined pop and ska influences followed.
Cliff relocated to London in 1965 at the behest of Chris Blackwell of Island Records, and broadened his musical approach to incorporate soul and rhythm and blues as he moved in the direction of reggae.
He became a favourite in South America in the late 60s. His song, Waterfall and his album, Wonderful World, won a prize at a festival in Brazil. Beautiful People
was an international hit as well as the record that prompted Paul Simon to investigate reggae.
Cliff, as the star of The Harder They Come, contributed to its soundtrack the classics
Many Rivers to Cross,
Sitting in Limbo. His title song—Cliff, became reggae’s biggest star.
Discover more from The Source
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
