Gordon Robinson | Many rivers to cross
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On Monday, the world lost another musical legend as Jimmy Cliff passed away at the age of 81.
Although, as James Chambers, he was born in Adelphi, a hillside community in Somerton, near Montego Bay, by the time he died Jimmy Cliff belonged to the world. His awesome achievements from The Harder they Come, a movie in which he not only starred but contributed four hit songs to the soundtrack, through The Lion King and Club Paradise (with Robin Williams and Peter O’Toole) to Cool Runnings, Jimmy proved he was so much more than a singer/songwriter.
His performances in Africa and South America, especially Brazil, where Chalice’s Wayne Armond played guitar in his band, brought him the kind of global recognition and respect that only few can imagine much less attain. He has collaborated with Bruce Springsteen; Elvis Costello; Elton John; Joe Strummer (whose duet with Country/Rock and Roll Legend Johnny Cash to cover Redemption Song is a collectors’ item classic); Rolling Stones guitarist, Ronnie Wood; and LaToya Jackson among many others.
BUT Jimmy was no overnight success. He was rejected by big studios and made a few recordings for local sound system operators that were never released or didn’t make it very far. One of the first “big” studios to reject Jimmy Cliff was King Edwards who was one of the top four that included Lesley Kong (Beverley’s); Duke Reid “the Trojan”; and the Doyen of them all Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd (Studio One).
Fifty-odd years later King Edwards confessed to me that it was his biggest regret. According to Edwards, he rejected Cliff’s audition because he felt Jimmy’s voice was “too fine.”
Well, Jimmy sure showed him!
It wasn’t long before King Edwards left the music business (he said because he couldn’t abide the excessive ganja smoking in the studio) and became renowned as the late, great Vin Edwards, politician, trade unionist and racehorse trainer supreme.
Many rivers to cross
and it’s only my will that keeps me alive.
I’ve been licked, washed up for years
and I merely survive because of my pride.
So Jimmy penned a song about a girl who made him feel like a hurricane. The recording benefited from the outstanding saxophone styling of the one and only “Deadly” Headley Bennett. The song not only introduced Jimmy Cliff to Jamaica but made his name reverberate throughout Jamaican homes and dance halls alike. After many years of struggle, Jimmy Cliff finally became an overnight sensation. It wasn’t long before he caught Chris Blackwell’s ear and was signed to Island records. Off he went to the UK circa 1963 to make his name there.
His Island Records experience in England wasn’t very successful although he did release a debut album named Hard Road to Travel. So he turned to Brazil where his cover of Nirvana’s Waterfall brought him success. He returned to Jamaica in the late 1960s
Many rivers to cross
but I can’t seem to find my way over.
Wandering I am lost
as I travel along the white cliffs of Dover.
But, through it all, Jimmy remained a humble, conscious family man. He told the UK Guardian in 2012 “So now family means everything to me. I have a career, which is important, but my family is the priority. First family and then career. It’s a delicate balance.”
He did everything for his family which, at the time of his passing, included wife Latifa, two children they created together (with God as co-parent) and others from previous relationships. In the best researched Obituary I’ve read so far, The Guardian’s David Katz reported:
“He is survived by his wife, Latifa Belaydi, their daughter Lilty and son Aken, and other children from previous relationships, including the Brazilian actor and singer Nabiyah Be.”
Nabiyah Be was born on January 31, 1992 as a result of the union between Jimmy Cliff and Sónia Gomes while he lived in Brazil. She toured with Jimmy as a backup singer at a tender age and become very successful as an actor and singer. She has a BFA in acting from Pace University in New York. After graduating she played Eurydice in Anaïs Mitchell’s 2016 off-Broadway play Hadestown. The following year she played the lead in School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play, directed by Rebecca Taichman, for which she won a 2018 Drama Desk Award, one of the most esteemed awards in New York theatre. She also played the villain Linda in the original Black Panther movie starring Chadwick Boseman.
When asked during a January 2019 interview with United Reggae if he was “happy,” Cliff replied, “Yes, and it helps that I have 2 children with my wife.” Those two, daughter Lilty and son Aken, were born around 2004 and 2005 and he has obviously been a great father to both. In July 2020 they posted the following message on his Instagram page “Papa you were there from the day we were born, always having our best interests in heart. We wish you lots of love, great health and happiness. Let’s celebrate you today. Love you Papa.”
Jimmy told the Guardian in 2012 that Lilty (singer) and Aken (drummer) seemed to be showing an inclination towards music. In 2022, Lilty collaborated with her father and Dwight Richards, an accomplished trumpeter/singer who toured with Jimmy for two decades, to create a track named “Racism.”
I believe I can tell you about at least two of the “other children from previous relationships” mentioned by the Guardian because, in the very late 1980s/very early 90s, twin girls in the same class with The Computer Wiz at Sts. Peter and Paul prep were “known” as Jimmy’s daughters. So, after his passing I asked the Wiz if he remembered their names. He and his fogged up brain replied “Something like Sana and Saba.”
Sigh. We’re all getting old.
I’ve never met them but I remember them because, whenever the Old Ball and Chain, as was her wont, dragged me, kicking and screaming, to the annual school Bar-B-Que, the saving grace was a free performance by the great Jimmy Cliff to end the night.
Jimmy Cliff was all about family. He lived, breathed, gave, gave and gave again for his family.
In a live performance more than a decade ago in New York, Jimmy Cliff ad-libbed a new verse to Many Rivers to Cross which he wrote in his head on the fly on his way to the stage.
But I think I got it now
Love is my foundation
Wisdom is my capital
Struggle is my manner
Truth is my redeemer
Sorrow is my companion
Love is my foundation
Many rivers I’ve crossed
It’s been so hard to find my way over...
Peace and Love.
Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com