{"id":11832,"date":"2025-12-19T11:23:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T11:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/?p=11832"},"modified":"2025-12-26T08:43:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T08:43:16","slug":"a-fitting-musical-farewell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/?p=11832","title":{"rendered":"A Fitting Musical Farewell"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gov\u2019t, artiste fraternity honour legacy of Jimmy Cliff at official funeral<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The optimism veteran reggae artiste Jimmy Cliff oozed in life summed-up the performances and tributes at his thanksgiving service on Wednesday, December 17 at National Indoor Sports Centre in St Andrew.\u00a0 It was a celebration befitting the country boy from Somerton, St James, who became an international superstar.<\/p>\n

Artistes, musicians, politicians, and the working-class turned out to salute the legendary singer-songwriter who died on November 24 at age 81.<\/p>\n

Attendees, including the entertainer\u2019s widow Latifa Chambers and many of his 19 children, along with those watching on the live stream across the globe, heard tributes from Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding, and entertainment minister Olivia Grange.<\/p>\n

Holness noted that Jimmy Cliff \u2014 real name James Chambers \u2014 never forgot his roots in rural Jamaica. It was a humility he exuded while playing Ivan in\u00a0\u2018The Harder They Come<\/em>,\u2019<\/strong> the 1972 movie directed by Perry Henzell, charged the prime minister.<\/p>\n

\u201cSongs such as\u00a0\u201cMany Rivers to Cross;\u201d \u201cYou Can Get it If You Really Want;\u201d \u201cWonderful World, Beautiful People;\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cThe Harder They Come,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> spoke directly to struggles, perseverance, and hope. They did not merely entertain; they affirmed dignity, resilience, and belief in possibility,\u201d said Holness.<\/p>\n

Golding addressed the importance of The Harder They Come and its role in introducing Jamaican pop culture to an international audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cJimmy Cliff played a major role in that film. He delivered a performance so natural, so authentic, and so convincing that it helped guarantee the film\u2019s timelessness,\u201d said Golding.<\/p>\n

\"\"Latifa, her children Aken and Lilty, expressed their husband and father\u2019s love for humanity and his homeland. Lilty was among the service\u2019s performers. She did a rendition of\u00a0\u201cMoving On\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>with singer Tammi T, keyboardist Chris McDonald, and trumpeter\/vocalist Dwight Richards, who toured and recorded with Jimmy Cliff.<\/p>\n

At the end of the three-hour service the family was presented with a Jamaican flag by Holness, Grange, and Golding.<\/p>\n

\"\"Among the tributes offered, Victor Chambers, the late artiste\u2019s older brother, recalled travelling the world with his famous sibling and being introduced to different cultures. He then acknowledged his 19 nieces and nephews. Each name he called drawing sustained applause.<\/p>\n

Among the attendees were Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, the company that distributed many of Jimmy Cliff\u2019s early hit songs in the United Kingdom, including\u00a0\u201cWonderful World Beautiful People\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cVietnam\u201d<\/em><\/strong> \u2014\u00a0<\/em>performed during the service by Tony Rebel.<\/p>\n

Carl Bradshaw, who played Jose, Ivan\u2019s nemesis in\u00a0\u201cThe Harder They Come<\/em>,\u201d <\/strong>also attended.<\/p>\n

There were outstanding performances from the National Dance Theatre Company and Tivoli Dance Troupe, who performed movements to\u00a0\u201cMany Rivers to Cross\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cWonderful World, Beautiful People<\/em>,\u201d<\/strong> respectively.<\/p>\n

Richie Spice offered\u00a0\u201cTreat the Youth Right<\/em>,\u201d<\/strong> while Richards did justice to the ska songs\u00a0\u201cKing of Kings,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> \u201cMiss Jamaica,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>as well as\u00a0\u201cReggae Night<\/em>,\u201d<\/strong> which introduced Jimmy Cliff to new fans in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n

\"\"Songbird Tessanne Chin, who also toured with Jimmy Cliff, did a rousing rendition of\u00a0\u201cI Can See Clearly Now\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0which he covered for\u00a0\u201cCool Runnings<\/em>,\u201d<\/strong> the hit 1993 movie.<\/p>\n

The musical segment closed with tribute songs from Duane Stephenson, Luciano, Tammi T, Dean Fraser, Nadine Sutherland, Tarrus Riley, Alaine, Abijah, Beenie Man, and Richie Stephens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov\u2019t, artiste fraternity honour legacy of Jimmy Cliff at official funeral The optimism veteran reggae artiste Jimmy Cliff oozed in life summed-up the performances and tributes at his thanksgiving service on Wednesday, December 17 at National Indoor Sports Centre in St Andrew.\u00a0 It was a celebration befitting the country boy from Somerton, St James, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-11832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-breakingnews"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11833,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11832\/revisions\/11833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}