Jimmy Cliff

Biography

The Honourable Jimmy Cliff, OM (30 July 1944 – 24 November 2025), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and actor. At the time of his death, he was the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences. He is best known among mainstream audiences for songs such as "Sitting in Limbo," "You Can Get It If You Really Want," and "Many Rivers to Cross" from the soundtrack to The Harder They Come, which helped popularize reggae across the world; and his covers of Cat Stevens' "Wild World" and Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" from the film Cool Runnings. Outside of the reggae world, he is probably best known for his film appearance in The Harder They Come. Jimmy Cliff was one of five performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jimmy Cliff, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Most Known For

Saturday Night Live

as Self - Musical Guest

Champs-Elysées

as Self

Never Mind the Buzzcocks

as Self

Sacrée Soirée

as Self

TOTP2

as Self

Space Ghost Coast to Coast

Le monde est à vous

as Self

Rockpalast

Rock Concert

as Self

Partido Alto

as Self

4-3-2-1 Hot and Sweet

as Self

Marked for Death

as Himself

Lennon or McCartney

as Self

Marley

as Self

Club Paradise

as Ernest Reed

Grandes Nomes

as Self

Muscle Shoals

as Self

The Harder They Come

as Ivanhoe "Ivan" Martin

Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell

as Self (archive footage)

Spotlight

as self