The Artist

Jimmy Cliff, born James Chambers in 1948, is a reggae singer and musician. He showed his love for music at an early age when he would perform in local fairs and festivals. He moved to Kingston in 1962 to continue his education and entered lots of contests and caught the eye of Leslie Kong.

He was 14 when his first big hit Hurricane Hattie came out. After producing a string of other hit songs he moved to England and signed with Island Records. He released Wonderful World, Beautiful People, in 1970. It contained the song Vietnam, which received praise from Bob Dylan.

He also had a brief stint with acting in a movie called The Harder They Come. His album, which was titled the same as his movie, was one if the best selling reggae albums of all times and really rocketed him into the world of bestsellers. He is considered to be one of the main artists who influenced Bob Marley and was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame in 2010.