Reggae Icon Jimmy Cliff Dead At 81

International reggae icon Jimmy Cliff passed away after a battle with pneumonia which followed a seizure. He was 81.

In a post to his official social media pages, his wife Latifa Chambers confirmed his death.

“I am thankful for his family, friends, fellow artists and coworkers who have shared his journey with him. To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career. He really appreciated each and every fan for their love,” she said.

Cliff, whose birth name was James Chambers, was instrumental in introducing reggae to an international audience, largely through his performance in the landmark film Harder They Come.

A few years ago, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced that the soundtrack for seminal Jamaican film The Harder They Come, which stars Cliff, has been added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, making it only the second reggae album to be so recognized. Six tracks are from Cliff.

Cliff is known for megahits such as Many Rivers to Cross, You Can Get It If You Really Want, The Harder They Come, Reggae Night, Wonderful World, Beautiful People, and his covers of Cat Stevens’s Wild World and Johnny Nash’s I Can See Clearly Now.

Last year, the BPI issued a silver certification for Cliff’s cover of ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ (200,000 units),

‘I Can See Clearly Now’ was written and originally recorded by American singer Johnny Nash in 1972. The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as charts in Canada and South Africa.

Jimmy Cliff’s version, which is featured on the soundtrack to the 1993 film Cool Runnings, was released on the Chaos label, a subsidiary of Sony Music. It peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Cliff’s highest charting single to date in the United States), #1 in France, Iceland and New Zealand, while also making its presence felt on charts in Switzerland, Netherlands, Canada, Belgium and Australia.

‘I Can See Clearly Now’ was previously certified gold in France (250,000 units) and platinum in New Zealand (10,000 units).

He starred in the film The Harder They Come, which helped popularize reggae across the world. He also starred in the movie Club Paradise, and Cliff appeared in the film Marked for Death in 1990, performing John Crow with the Jimmy Cliff Band.

He is the only living 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. Cliff was one of five performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

In 2011, Cliff’s full-length album Rebirth won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album and was included in Rolling Stone’s ’50 Best Albums of 2012′.