The last Titan, Jimmy Cliff, dies at 81

Jimmy Cliff, one of the pioneers and legends of reggae music, has sadly passed away at the age of 81. My generation was introduced to reggae by Cliff in the late 1960s, before the music genre became truly global.

Two songs stood out in that early encounter with reggae: “Vietnam” and “Wonderful World, Beautiful People”—both released in 1969. I was at Sixth Form and beginning to understand global issues and forming opinions about public ethics and social rights.

Sierra Leone’s music scene was buzzing with amazingly good foreign and local sounds, including African-American soul, Western pop, US country, Congolese rumba-soukous, highlife, and South African marabi, popularized by Miriam Makeba. The music of Sierra Leonean artists and groups, such as Heartbeats, Dr. Dynamite, Golden Strings, Sabanoh Jazz, Afro National, Super Combo, Rogie, Calendar, Big Faya and Dr. Oloh was also hot on the airwaves and at parties and dancehalls.

But what stood out in Cliff’s two songs was his political message—protesting the Vietnam war and urging citizens of the world to love one another. The lyrics in “Vietnam” captured the image of young Americans dying in a foreign land. It drew attention to the futility or senselessness of the war and need to stop it.

In the lyrics, a young American soldier was excited about the prospect of returning home—he sent a telegram to his friend and mum that he would be coming home in “June”, only for his mum to receive another telegram a day later that announced his death. In “Wonderful World, Beautiful People”, also released in 1969, Cliff appealed to the world for peace and love. Bob Dylan, the iconic singer-song writer of U.S. folk music, is credited to have rated “Vietnam” as the best protest song he ever heard.

These two songs, which were popularised by the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service in Freetown, had a profound impact on me and many of my friends. I developed interest in the Vietnam war by reading anything I could lay my hands on in public libraries.

Cliff also released a masterpiece, *Many Rivers to Cross*, in 1969, which is a powerful motivational song for those who seek to overcome adversity. Many famous R&B and pop artists have covered this song, cementing it as a truly global ballad.

“You can get it if you really want”, released in 1970, was another global hit. The line in the lyrics “Rome was not built in a day / Opposition will come your way” is deeply inspirational. When Cliff heard that the Conservative Party in the UK had used the song in its annual party conference in 2007, he responded that he ‘couldn’t stop them from using it, even though he wasn’t a supporter of politics’.

Global breakthrough

Perhaps it was the 1972 hit single “The Harder They Come”, a soundtrack in a movie of the same title, in which Cliff featured as the lead actor, that catapulted him to global stardom. I had just spent a year in London as an undergraduate student when the film was released. It was an instant and extraordinary hit.

Prior to the release of the movie, reggae was still slowly establishing itself as a force in the UK music scene. The music of the Pioneers, Desmond Decker, Eric Donaldson and Eddy Grant’s band, “The Equals”, which played catchy pop and eclectic music, with some reggae influences, led the way.

Filmed in Jamaica, Cliff played in *The Harder they Come* the role of a poor young man, who moved to the capital city, Kingston, after the death of his grandmother. He lost all his possessions to a trickster and found it difficult to get a job. However, he was rescued by a preacher, who offered him menial jobs in his church. He later fell out with the preacher as both tried to court the preacher’s ward.

Cliff’s aim was to record his song “The Harder They Come” and become a superstar. After several attempts he was able to do so with a recording studio that dominated the music industry. However, he didn’t make money from it because the studio was only interested in recouping its cost; it wasn’t interested in promoting the song.

Cliff then decided to get involved in the underworld of gang culture, drug dealing and violence. He shot several police officers who tried to arrest him. The recording studio exploited his new fame or notoriety by releasing his song, which became a hit. Cliff injured his shoulder in another shootout and escaped to Cuba, but was shot to death when he emerged from his hiding place with two guns.

I watched the film in one of central London’s cinemas when it was released. It was a popular subject of discussion at college campuses, parties, and other social events. That was the first movie I watched in which black actors felt wholly at ease with their surroundings.

I had watched the classics *To Sir With Love* and *Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner* in Freetown, in which the Bahamian-American, Sydney Poitier, featured as the main actor. But these two films were about the toxic nature of race relations in the U.S., and Poitier looked like an outsider—he was constantly diplomatic or cautious in navigating the murky world of his racial surroundings. *The Harder They Come* was different. Cliff and the other black actors were bold, confident, and very much at ease with their environment. Music pundits affirm that the film and its hit single of the same title contributed greatly in transforming reggae into a global music genre.

Cliff’s influence in Africa

However the album that had the greatest impact on me was “House of Exile”, which was released in 1974. That was the year I graduated from college. I went home that year and spent a month with my family and friends in Freetown. I was bowled over by Jimmy Cliff’s iconic status in the city. I don’t think I saw that kind of love for an artist before I left Freetown in 1971 to study in the UK. And he had not even visited Freetown at the time.

The “House of Exile” album was everywhere—on radio, at parties, and in homes and social gatherings. The entire album was like an anthem. Everyone seemed to know all the songs and lyrics. In the parties and night clubs I attended, we all sang along when the album was played. It’s one of the rare albums whose tracks are all melodious and enjoyable. DJ’s didn’t like to interrupt the music until all the tracks had played because that was what revellers wanted. It’s the first album I played when I learnt about Cliff’s death today. It brought back so many good memories of life in Freetown in the 1960s and 1970s.

Anyone who’s familiar with Freetown’s urban culture of taunts, teases, and provocations (what we call “pul int” in Krio), will understand why folks there were attracted to the lyrics of *House of Exile*. Here are the full lyrics:

“There’s a day of feasting and a day of famine, day of sadness and a day of joy/ You could see in the day of feasting/ Life isn’t just a little play-like toy/ So the day arrived when you least expected/ Cos you always thought you were well protected/ Now you feel like a fish out of water/ So now you’re wondering what’s the matter/ Oh remember you said it wouldn’t happen to you/ Now you’re thinking how to start a-new/ A drowning man will catch at a straw/ You were warned but you wouldn’t take heed/

“Everything in creation must obey a law/ Its true in words as it is in deed/ You were so puffed up in your pomp and pride/ You’re exposed you got none to hide/ Yes, you used to look down on the folks beside you/ Never they think you would have come down too/ Remember they said you got to reap what you sow/Simple truth everybody know

“Oh what are you on a house of exile/Watching you now on your own last mile/Yes, what are you on a house of exile/Watching you now on your own last mile”.

“House of Exile” was so popular that women used the title as a brand for one of their braided hair styles. The braids at the top projected upwards like a roof, and two sets of braids at the front were split—tied separately and joined at the back. When seen as a whole, they looked like a hut or house that resembled the famous Lesotho traditional hat—the mokorotlo.

Cliff toured many African countries, including Nigeria in 1974, Sierra Leone in 1977 and 2010 (for an ECOWAS Peace Pageant), and South Africa in 1980 and 1982. A mammoth crowd welcomed him in Lagos. Even though he was arrested at his hotel and spent three nights in detention on a false accusation of breach of contract, he admired Nigeria’s energy and compared the fans’ adulation of him to Beatlemania. He even had a good time with the great afrobeat musical superstar, Fela, at his Kalakuta Republic. Cliff released, in 1976, the hit single “News”—a scathing critique of his arrest in Nigeria. His visit to South Africa during apartheid, which was under a global boycott, was controversial. I shunned him for a brief period when he made those visits. He argued that his “songs were inspiration and motivation for South African people who were fighting against apartheid”.

He told The Guardian in 2022 that he loved being in Africa: “No particular area”, he declared, “even though I have some land in Liberia, where Marcus Garvey wanted to take black people. I love it, but there are other places that I love, like Sierra Leone, east Africa, southern Africa. I love being in Africa, I just love the atmosphere”.

Global awards

Jimmy Cliff was nominated for seven Grammy awards and won two: best reggae recording in 1986 for “Cliff Hanger” and best reggae album in 2013 for “Rebirth”. He performed at the opening ceremony at cricket’s World Cup in 2007, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. Cliff inspired and brought happiness to many with his lyrics and mellifluous voice. The world has truly lost a titan in global music.

Bangura resides in Switzerland

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