RIP Jimmy Cliff

 

Reggae star and actor Jimmy Cliff has died after a seizure and a bout with pneumonia in Kingston, Jamaica on November 24^th. He was 81. Born James Chambers he became a Jamaican icon under the stage name Jimmy Cliff. He was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor who famously performed the theme song for the the 1988 film “Cocktail”. At the time of his death, he was the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honor that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences. He rivaled Babo Marley during their heydays. In the world of Spaghetti westerns, in 1969 Cliff along with the Upsetters released a studio album entitled “The Return of Django” and  in the film “The Harder They Come” Ivan played by Cliff is taken by José played by Carl Bradshaw to see “Django”..