He Was the King of Reggae Before Bob Marley

Jimmy Cliff, the charismatic reggae pioneer and actor who preached joy, defiance, and resilience in such classics as "Many Rivers to Cross," "You Can Get it If You Really Want" and "Vietnam" and starred in the landmark movie The Harder They Come, has died at 81. His family posted a message Monday on his social media sites that he died from a "seizure followed by pneumonia," per the AP. "To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career," the announcement reads in part. "He really appreciated each and every fan for their love."

Cliff was a native Jamaican with a spirited tenor and a gift for catchphrases and topical lyrics who joined Kingston's emerging music scene in his teens and helped lead a movement in the 1960s that included such future stars as Bob Marley, Toots Hibbert, and Peter Tosh. By the early 1970s, he had accepted director Perry Henzell's offer to star in a film about an aspiring reggae musician, Ivanhoe "Ivan" Martin, who turns to crime when his career stalls. Henzell named the movie The Harder They Come after suggesting the title as a possible song for Cliff.

The Harder They Come, delayed for some two years because of sporadic funding, was the first major commercial release to come out of Jamaica. It sold few tickets in its initial run, despite praise from Roger Ebert and other critics. But it now stands as a cultural touchstone, with a soundtrack widely cited as among the greatest ever and as a turning point in reggae's worldwide rise. For a brief time, Cliff rivaled Marley as the genre's most prominent artist. On an album that included Toots and the Maytals, the Slickers, and Desmond Dekker, Cliff was the featured artist on four out of 11 songs, all well placed in the reggae canon.

Cliff's career peaked with The Harder They Come, but, after a break in the late 1970s, he worked steadily for decades, whether session work with the Rolling Stones or collaborations with Wyclef Jean, Sting, and Annie Lennox, among others. Meanwhile, his own music lived on in covers by Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon, Cher, and UB40. Cliff was nominated for seven Grammys and won twice for best reggae album: in 1986 for Cliff Hanger and in 2012 for the well-named Rebirth, widely regarded as his best work in years. In 2010, Cliff was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.