Jimmy Cliff, reggae legend and star of The Harder They Come, dead at 81

Jimmy Cliff, the singer-songwriter who was a presence at the birth of modern Jamaican music and helped spread the influence of reggae around the world through his albums and starring role in the landmark film The Harder They Come, has died. He was 81.

"It's with profound sadness that I share that my husband, Jimmy Cliff, has crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia," his wife, Latifa, said in a Facebook post from Cliff's official account.

"I am thankful for his family, friends, fellow artists and co-workers 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," she added.

Cliff was arguably the most important artist in the genre's history. An oft-told story involves Cliff accompanying another teen who would become reggae's biggest seller and most iconic figure, Bob Marley, to an audition in the early 1960s.

Respect for Cliff's talents transcended the genre. Harry Nilsson, Little Milton and Joe Cocker were among the first artists to cover the gospel-influenced hymn Many Rivers to Cross, a signature song from the The Harder They Come soundtrack, and at the height of his popularity, Bruce Springsteen contributed a live performance cover of Cliff's Trapped for the We Are the World soundtrack album.

Cliff would score a hit himself when Reggae Night charted in several countries in 1983, and his cover of Johnny Nash's I Can See Clearly Now, from the Cool Runnings movie soundtrack, was a top 20 Billboard hit in 1993.

Cliff's accolades include receiving the Jamaican Order of Merit in 2003, and seven years later, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"When we see Jimmy Cliff, we saw ourselves," Haitian-born Wyclef Jean, of the Fugees, said in an induction speech for Cliff at the 2010 Hall of Fame ceremony.

Born James Chambers on July 30, 1944, in St. James in northwestern Jamaica, Cliff sang in church as a boy and began entering talent shows while barely a teen after moving to Kingston.

His early songs Miss Jamaica, Dearest Beverley and King of Kings resonated on the island and featured the ska rhythms of the time, and he was among several artists Jamaica sent to New York City to perform at the country's exhibition for the 1964 World's Fair.

The New York performances came at a time when knowledge of Jamaican music was just forming outside the island, with the pop-reggae cover of My Boy Lollipop by Millie Small reaching the top 5 on British and North American charts.

"I have lost a friend and Jamaica has lost one of its greatest sons," Olivia Grange, Jamaica's culture minister, posted on X. "Rest in eternal peace, Jimmy. Your light, your music, and your spirit will live on forever."

Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Monday hailed Cliff as "a true cultural giant."

Cliff's footprint would extend beyond Jamaica when he signed in the late 1960s to Island Records, formed by London-born Jamaica resident Chris Blackwell. His early releases for the label would reach European and American shores, with durable standards Wonderful World, Beautiful People, Hard Road to Travel and Vietnam reflecting the rock-steady sounds popular at the time.