Last week, Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae musician who introduced reggae to the general public, passed away.
Jimmy Cliff (1944-2025) began his musical career in the early 1960s, in Jamaica during the emerging ska and rocksteady scene. At a young age, he scored his first ska hits, such as “Hurricane Hattie.” As the music evolved into reggae, he blended his songs with soul and rhythm & blues, helping to popularize the music beyond Jamaica. He became best known for classics like “Wonderful World,” “Beautiful People,” “Many Rivers to Cross,” and “I Can See Clearly Now,” songs that also appealed to pop music fans—and thus a very wide audience.
According to Jimmy, the development of reggae coincided with developments in Jamaica. Jamaicans sensed the potential of independence, and ska responded to this, with an uptempo beat full of energy and movement. It echoed the sentiment: “We are here, we exist, listen to us.” Rocksteady suited the next phase: the calm after the storm. The music slowed down. With rocksteady, the music became more “steady” with a rocking beat. During this phase, Jamaicans began to look more inward. And then came the reggae wave, the wave of awareness of Jamaica’s African heritage through Rastafari. This self-awareness called for a new music. Jimmy Cliff called reggae the marriage of rhythm and message.
For several months now, Concertzender has been broadcasting the reggae programme Irie Riddims, by programme producer Geert de Vos. You can find a new episode Hier next week, and you can listen to the first episodes again.
