Jamaica mourns as Reggae Legend Jimmy Cliff dies at 81

Jamaica: Jimmy Cliff, a famous Jamaican Reggae singer and actor whose dulcet voice helped reggae to reach on global level died at the age of 81 after suffering a seizure. The news of his demise is confirmed by his wife Latifa Chambers through her Instagram post on Monday.

His wife shared an emotional note as she stated “It’s with profound sadness that I share, my husband Jimmy Cliff has passed away due to a seizure followed by pneumonia.”

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A Grammy winning musician, best known for his hits like “I Can See Clearly Now” and “The Harder They Come” was suffering from pneumonia for a long time and on Monday he suffered seizure due to which he passed away.

Jimmy Cliff whose real name was James Chambers was born in 30-July-1994 in St. James Paris, Jamaica, where he gained interest in music while singing in the churches and listening to American and Jamaican radio.

He started gaining popularity at just 14 when he began to write songs in primary school and afterwards he moved to Kingston for his career. At the age of 17 he gave his first hit “Hurricane Hattie” produced by Leslie Kong who named him “Jimmy Cliff."

Jimmy has appeared in films like “Club Paradise,” “Marked For Death” but his starring movie was “The Harder They Come” in which his iconic role as Ivan was loved by many people and through which he gained popularity as an actor.

James was awarded in 2010, for Jamaica’s Order of Merit, Inducement into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and with that in 2012, with a Grammy Award for his album “Rebirth”.

The news of his demise left many fans and community shocked as Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness himself paid tribute to Jimmy, addressing him as a “True cultural artist whose music carried the heart of our nation to the world.”

Today, Jamaica pauses to honour the life of the Honourable Jimmy Cliff, OM, a true cultural giant whose music carried the heart of our nation to the world.

Through timeless songs like Many Rivers to Cross, The Harder They Come, You Can Get It If You Really Want, and Sitting in… pic.twitter.com/nav8Qoxm6g

— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) November 24, 2025

PM also wrote “his music lifted people through hard times, inspired generations and helped to shape the global respect that Jamaican culture enjoys. We extended our thanks for his life, his contribution and the pride he brought to our nation.”