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When trumpeter and singer, Dwight Richards drew for Reggae Night from the catalogue of his good friend Jimmy Cliff, the spontaneous reaction from some inside the National Indoor Sports Centre was to joyfully jump to their feet ready to “ jam ‘til the morning light” and enjoy “ this rub-a-dubbin’, rockin’, jammin’, fun, fun, lovin’”.
Photographers and videographers jostled to capture the memorable moment, when everyone could clearly see, even for those brief minutes, that despite everything, it is truly a wonderful world filled with beautiful people.
Richards, perhaps because of his close bond with Cliff, was allotted extra performance time, and he certainly did his musical brother proud on Wednesday, as the venue came alive with a level of passion and tribute that only a man of Jimmy Cliff’s greatness could inspire. It was the official celebration of the life of Jimmy Cliff, presented by the Government and curated by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport and the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission.
Scheduled for a 3 p.m. start, the event got under way a few minutes after the hour, and, in the background, Cliff’s inner circle was keenly watching the time.
“Whenever he was performing, Jimmy Cliff always reached the venue one hour before the time. He was a professional to the core ... never late, so it was important to us that this event to honour him started on time,” Norman ‘Dewey’ Reid, who has journeyed with Cliff across the globe for more than two decades, told The Gleaner.
Veteran tour manager Copeland Forbes and chairman of the Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Stephen Stewart, totally agreed.
Cliff’s songs were the profound soundtrack of the event and many of those who performed shared personal insights about how he inspired them.
First up was Richie Spice with Cliff’s 1982 hit, Treat the Youths Right, and the evening was blessed with other hits, including the medleys, King of Kings/Miss Jamaica and Cry No More/Shelter of Your Voice from Dwight Richards; Wonderful World, Beautiful People, Duane Stephenson; We Are All One, Nadine Sutherland; Vietnam and The Harder They Come, Tony Rebel; Humanitarian, Tarrus Riley; Sitting In Limbo, Etana/Luciano; Hard Road to Travel, Alaine; Higher & Higher, Dean Fraser; You Can Get it if You Really Want, Sandy and Chris McDonald; Hot Shot, Beenie Man; I Can See Clearly Now, Tessanne Chin; Trapped, Richie Stephens, and Many Rivers to Cross from Cliff’s 21-year-old daughter, Lilty Cliff.
Lilty was among some of Jimmy Cliff’s 19 children who were present to witness firsthand the larger-than-life human being their father was and the esteem in which “the quiet revolutionary”, as Jamaica Music Museum chairman Herbie Miller described him, was held.
Another high point of the evening’s presentation came during a tribute by Cliff’s youthful-looking 86-year-old brother, Victor Chambers, who called out the names of all 19 children to shouts of approval from the audience, family members and the children themselves.
Curiously enough, the children have three different surnames – Chambers, Bashir and Cliff – and Victor told The Gleaner that his brother had “changed his name about three or four times”. As he was about to elaborate on the most recent version, ‘Jimmy Chambers Cliff’, Victor’s daughter, who joined the interview late, said that she “didn’t think this was the right time for him to be talking”.
Born James Chambers, the singer took on the name Jimmy Cliff as his stage name early in his career. After embracing the Muslim faith in the early 1970s, Cliff had a new name, Na’im Bashir. He subsequently changed it back to Chambers. On the day of his celebration, the icon was recognised as Jimmy Chambers Cliff, a surname also used by his wife, Latifa Chambers Cliff.
Earlier in the proceedings, tributes came from Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness; Minister of Culture, Olivia Grange; Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding; Justine Henzell; and, via video, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Wyclef Jean, Ziggy Marley, Shaggy and Sting. All spoke passionately about the greatness of the man.
“We give thanks for his contribution and we give thanks for his unwavering belief in the power of the Jamaican culture,” Prime Minister Holness said, as he recalled the last time he saw Jimmy Cliff perform live. “It was clear that Jimmy Cliff’s legend transcended generations,” Holness added.
Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, also sent a video message, noting that she regretted “not being able to stand among you to honour our icon, Jimmy Cliff”.
“I do wish very much that I was standing among you but in instances like this, distance does not diminish connection and absence does not weaken gratitude. I’m with you in mind and spirit. To honour Jimmy Cliff in Jamaica is to honour him where his voice was first formed, where his conscience sharpened and where his vision took root,” Prime Minister Mottley said, adding, “Today is a regional and global moment of acknowledgement. Jamaica gave the world Jimmy Cliff and through him the Caribbean learned how powerfully its story could be told.”
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