Jimmy Cliff , the Jamaican singer who was instrumental in taking reggae global, has died. Cliff’s wife, Latifa Chambers, and his family announced the news in a post on the singer’s social media pages, giving the cause as a seizure followed by pneumonia. Cliff was 81 years old.

Born James Chambers, Jimmy Cliff was a star of stage and screen, as well known for his role in the revolutionary cult film The Harder They Come as for his export of ska and reggae music across the Atlantic and back to North America. His breakout in late 1960s London followed a determined rise out of poverty in Jamaica, where he had graduated from playing Elvis Presley covers in singing contests to releasing a string of ska hits that helped the genre, fueled by the introduction of the electric bass guitar, creat

See Full Page