• April 1, 1948
• Jimmy Cliff was born James Chambers in 1948 in St. Catherine, Jamaica. At age 18, he moved to Kingston and began a career as a musician. When asked why he entered the music business, Jimmy Cliff said "there was nothing else I really liked doing."
• In 1973, Cliff starred in a film called The Harder They Come, where he played a reggae singer trying to make it big in America. Reggae music was breaking big in the US at the time, and it looked like Cliff was going to be the breakout star. The movie underperformed and Cliff's subsequent albums didn't catch on, so it was Bob Marley who ended up becoming reggae's global superstar.
• In 1993, Jimmy Cliff re-recorded a new version of the Johnny Nash song "I Can See Clearly Now." The song was featured on the soundtrack for the film Cool Runnings, a comedy about the Jamaican bobsled team's first experience at the Winter Olympics in Calgary in 1988.
• Jimmy Cliff was one of five performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. The other inductees that year included ABBA, Genesis, The Hollies, and The Stooges. Cliff was only the second reggae performer to be welcomed into the Hall.
• In 2003, Jimmy Cliff was awarded the Order of Merit by his home country Jamaica for his notable contributions to music and film. The award is the third-highest in the country and he became only one of two living Jamaicans to earn the award.
• Jimmy Cliff's first producer, Leslie Kong, used to run an ice cream parlor and restaurant in Kingston, Jamaica. The shop was called Beverly's and it also sold records. One night, Cliff was walking by the store late at night as they were closing. On a whim, he decided to go in and ask Kong if he'd be interested in making records with him. Kong agreed and Cliff's career started taking off soon after.
• In 2012, Jimmy Cliff entered the studio to record a new album with Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong. The collaboration seems unusual, but Armstrong says Cliff is one of his "most admired artists."
• Jimmy Cliff's song "Trapped" reached new audiences when Bruce Springsteen covered the song on his tours in the early '80s. Springsteen's version also appeared on the 1985 charity compilation We Are the World.

Comments

More Songfacts:

I Ran (So Far Away)A Flock of Seagulls

"I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock Of Seagulls ends with an alien abduction.

StanEminem

Thanks to Eminem's song, the word "stan" was added to the Oxford American Dictionary in 2017. It means an obsessive fan.

Sloop John BThe Beach Boys

"Sloop John B" is a traditional West Indian folk song, and it was a huge hit for The Beach Boys in 1966. They tweaked the lyric, "This is the worst trip since I've been born" to "...I've ever been on" as a wink to acid culture.

3 AMMatchbox Twenty

The Matchbox Twenty song "3 AM" is about the difficult times lead singer Rob Thomas spent caring for his mother, who had cancer.

Nothin' On YouB.o.B

When "Nothin' On You" reached #1 on the Hot 100, B.o.B became the first American act whose name is a palindrome to top the chart. The other two who did so prior to the Atlanta rapper were both Scandinavian groups - ABBA and A-Ha.

Just Give Me A ReasonPink

Pink wrote "Just Give Me A Reason" about how one partner can feel jilted over something trivial, like how her boyfriend passes her the butter.

Editor's Picks

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Glen BallardSongwriter Interviews

Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."