Jimmy Cliff, one of the defining voices of reggae and a key figure in taking Jamaican music to a worldwide audience, has died aged 81.

His death was announced by his wife, Latifa Chambers, in a statement on Instagram, where she said the artist had “crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia”. She thanked family, friends, fellow musicians and fans, adding that their support “was his strength throughout his whole career”, and closed with a simple farewell: “Jimmy, my darling, may you rest in peace. I will follow your wishes.” The message was also signed by their children.

Born James Chambers in 1944 in St James Parish, Jamaica, Cliff grew up in poverty as the eighth of nine children. He began singing in church at a young age and started writing his own material as a teenager, inspired by the emerging ska sound. After moving to Kingston, he adopted the stage name Jimmy Cliff and quickly became part of the island’s developing music industry. His early hit “Hurricane Hattie” topped the Jamaican charts when he was just 14.

Cliff’s international breakthrough came in the late 1960s after signing with Island Records in London. Singles such as “Wonderful World, Beautiful People” and the protest song “Vietnam” brought him to a broader audience. The latter was famously praised by Bob Dylan as one of the strongest anti-war songs of its time. Cliff’s work in this period established the balance of optimism and social commentary that would characterise much of his output.

His role in the 1972 film The Harder They Come cemented his status as a global cultural figure. Playing aspiring singer Ivan Martin, Cliff portrayed the harsh realities of life in Jamaica’s music and criminal underworld. The film became a cornerstone of Jamaican cinema and, through its soundtrack, introduced reggae to many international listeners. Cliff’s performances on songs such as “The Harder They Come”, “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and “Many Rivers to Cross” became central to reggae’s global canon.

Over subsequent decades, Cliff maintained a steady recording and touring career. He released more than 30 studio albums, exploring reggae, ska, soul and pop influences. In the 1980s he won a Grammy Award for the album Cliff Hanger and later returned to the US and European charts with his 1993 cover of “I Can See Clearly Now” for the film Cool Runnings. Another Grammy followed in 2012 for Rebirth, a late-career album that revisited his classic sound.

Cliff collaborated with a wide range of artists, including the Rolling Stones, Sting, Annie Lennox, Paul Simon and Wyclef Jean. In 2010 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, one of only a few Jamaican musicians to receive that honour. Jamaica recognised his contribution in 2003 with the Order of Merit, the country’s third-highest national honour, awarded for outstanding achievements in the arts and sciences.

Tributes have described him as a cultural ambassador whose songs carried Jamaican stories around the world. Cliff himself often highlighted the importance of that connection with listeners. In a 2012 interview, he recalled fans who told him that “You Can Get It If You Really Want” had encouraged them to return to school or change their lives, calling those stories “a big success” in their own right.

Jimmy Cliff continued to perform well into his later years, appearing at major festivals including Glastonbury and Coachella, and releasing his final studio album, Refugees, in 2022. His death marks the passing of an artist whose voice, songs and screen presence helped define reggae’s place in global popular culture.

Jimmy Cliff, whose songs like “Many Rivers to Cross” and “You Can Get It If You Really Want” became global touchstones and whose film The Harder They Come was pivotal in popularising reggae