We lost another legend lost last week with the passing of Jimmy Cliff. The Jamaican singer-songwriter earned his place in music history as one of reggae’s founding voices, but his artistry always reached beyond any single genre. Songs like “Many Rivers to Cross” stand as timeless standards—simultaneously gospel, folk, and pop, defying easy categorization while feeling utterly universal. It’s one of several Cliff classics featured on The Harder They Come soundtrack, an album that belongs in any conversation about the greatest movie soundtracks ever made.
Beyond their musical brilliance, Cliff’s songs carried an unwavering optimism and belief in human possibility. There’s something fitting about “You Can Get It If You Really Want” arriving in 1970, just a year after the Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”—a direct answer, optimism standing up to resignation, Cliff’s faith in what we can achieve offering its own kind of revolution.
Here are a quartet of videos in tribute to the late artist. We kick it all off with video from the studio recording of “The Harder They Come”, followed by live concert performances of “Many Rivers to Cross”, “Sitting in Limbo”, and “You Can Get It If You Really Want It”.
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.