TRIBUTE to DR. JAMES CHAMBERS aka JIMMY CLIFF

   

                 Tribute to Dr. James Chambers aka JIMMY CLIFF

                                                        By Nzinga Nzinga

Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff

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

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.

Many Rivers to Cross. Jimmy Cliff

   

Jimmy Cliff

                                                       

“It can be said, and rightly so,

that there is hardly any illness where

Swedish Bitters is not of benefit, or at

least is effective as a basis for every treatment.”

Maria Treben, Health Through God’s Pharmacy.

This dogmatic, didactic, assertive and confident statement on Swedish Bitters, from Maria Treben, is supported, endorsed, maintained and bolstered by successful healers and researchers, reporters and laypersons (my category) and is not to be regarded lightly but to be taken as gospel truth. Whether you are completely healthy, mildly sick, chronically diseased or terminally ill, this piece of authoritative therapeutic opinion should not be ignored but rather be in the forefront of ones mind.

I am not merely impressed but overwhelmed by this sincere, informed, stimulating, authoritative herbalist practitioner-cum-researcher-cum-writer, Maria Treben. How can I tell the reader why this brilliant herbalist is such a favourite of mine?  

Let me try by using an analogous experience I had on a visit to Jamaica, the country of my birth, in 2005, when I was blown away by the performance of a certain Jamaican artist from Somerton, St. James.

Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff

I attended a fundraising concert  'Evening Of Black Magic' (February 4, 2005) by the Many Rivers to Cross, musician, Jimmy Cliff, a.k.a the Hon Dr James Chambers, OM, at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus on February 4. I have never in my life experienced such a sustained moment of unadulterated public joy and ecstasy as I did that night at the overwhelmingly brilliant, exciting and never-a-dull moment performance of The Harder They Come, You Can Get it if You Really Want, and The Rebel in Me man. Simply put, it was magnificently awesome.

Jimmy Cliff

What was even more stimulating is that the audience to a man and woman, as far as I discerned, during and long after the occasion, was also swept away by the artistry, virtuosity and generosity of Jimmy. Why ‘generosity’? Because I felt that he had given his all, he held nothing back. This recipient, yours truly, of this excellent moment of artistry felt that he had kept nothing back.

Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff

I laughed, I cried, I danced, I sang and I thanked God for bestowing on me that glorious opportunity of witnessing genius singing, dancing, intermittently playing all the musical instruments and splitting, at that age, 66!

Jimmy Cliff

We were noisily joining Jimmy in his well-known songs. However, when he launched into Many Rivers to Cross, total silence reigned. We ‘listened motionless and still’. It was like he was singing a prayer and we responded deferentially. I could see people with hands steepled in prayerful surrender. I could hear my friend, who was also visiting from Ghana and sitting next to me, breathe. Tears are falling as I write this piece and this emotional reaction can be construed as a tribute to Jimmy Cliff on his inimitable, thrilling and unforgettable performance at his Black Magic concert.

“So much things to say...”  (Bob Marley) about Jimmy’s performance but I will simply borrow from Mary Poppins and declare it awesomely ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’!

When he finally ended his out-of-this-world performance, some of the audience yelled for an encore. Still wafting on a high, I yelled back: “No, no. Enough. You have given us everything.” He gave no encore. He couldn’t. He had wrapped it up in its fullness and closed it off with a Rasta Anthem. For me, it was a religious experience. What I always say about my beloved Bob Marley’s music, I will also say about Jimmy’s: “The music in my heart I bore. Long after it was heard no more.” William Wordsworth. 
Thank you, Jimmy.

 So what is the link that I am drawing between the concert of Jimmy Cliff and the books of Maria Treben’s Health Through God’s Pharmacy and Cures? Simple. Undoubtedly, both maestros, in their own particular field, have produced brilliant work but the generosity of them both in giving their maximum without holding back, is what, at this moment of writing, brings tears to my eyes.

Jimmy Cliff

 

Yes, my captive audience, I have been shedding two separate showers of tears for the generosity of each of these two folks, from different parts of the globe, who represent different fields of virtuosity, but have generously used their talent to benefit mankind and bring satisfaction and joy to so many thousands globally, and with such excellence! I am still crying. Thank, you Dr. Chambers and Mrs. Treben. You can deduce from all this sentimentality on my part that I am a sucker for generosity and excellence and that I am not ashamed to cry. 

A brief clip from Jimmy's history won't hurt:

Jimmy Cliff receiving OM

Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska and reggae multi-instrumentalist musician, singer and actor. He is also honoured as Dr. Chambers, OM, The Jamaican government honoured Jimmy Cliff, on 20 October 2003, by awarding him The Order of Merit, the nation's fourth-highest honour since 2003, in recognition of his contributions to the film and music of Jamaica. He is the only living musician to hold the Order of Merit. 

A true Jamaican icon, Cliff was born James Chambers on April 1, 1948 in Somerton, St.James, Jamaica. As a teenager, he adopted the stage name “Cliff” to acknowledge the heights he intended to climb. With a career spanning nearly 50 years, Cliff’s material can be found on a total of nearly 100 albums/compilations/EPs/singles. His first album to win a Grammy was “Cliff Hanger” (1985). Then, in the early 90s, Cliff returned to the mainstream with his hit remake of Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now” from the Cool Runnings movie soundtrack.

Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff

 With more than four decades of material to choose from and a catalogue which includes Many Rivers to Cross, The Harder They Come, You Can Get it if You Really Want, Sitting in Limbo, Wonderful World, Beautiful People, Hot Shot, Rebel in Me, Reggae Night, One More, Now & Forever, Peace, Vietnam, Shelter of Your Love, Dear Mother, We all are one, Wild World and Hard Road to travel. 

Jimmy Cliff in movie The Harder They Come

In 1972, Cliff starred as Ivanhoe "Ivan" Martin in the classic reggae film, The Harder They Come directed by Perry Henzell. As the film tells Martin's story, he is a young man without funds. Arriving in Kingston from the country, he tries to make it in the recording business, but without success. Eventually, he turns to a life of crime. The soundtrack album of the film was a huge success that sold well globally to an international audience for the first time. It remains one of the most internationally significant films to have come out of Jamaica since independence. After a series of albums, he took a break and travelled to Africa and subsequently converted to Islam taking the new name: El Hadj Naïm Bachir.

Jimmy Cliff

Also in 1985, Cliff contributed to the song"Sun City" a protest song against apartheid in South Africa. In 1988,his song "Shelter of Your Love" was featured in the hit film Cocktail

Jimmy Cliff

Cliff appeared in the film Marked for Death in 1990, performing "John Crow" with the Jimmy Cliff Band.  His recording of "You Can Get It If You Really Want" was used as a campaign anthem by the Sandinista National Liberation Front in the 1990 election in Nicaragua. In 1991, he performed at the second Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He continued to sell well in Jamaica and, to a lesser extent, in the UK, returning to the mainstream pop charts in the U.S. and in France with a version of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" on the Cool Runnings film soundtrack in 1993.

Hakuna Matata  from The Lion King

In 1995, Cliff released the single "Hakuna Matata", a song from the soundtrack of the film The Lion King.

Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy is also such a good looking bro. I am sure his good looks have not in any way hurt his career! May he stay blessed! I love him. 

One of my favourite quotes from Jimmy Cliff: 

"I consider myself a spiritual warrior, whose battle is always with self. I think consciously or unconsciously, we all are that."

The End

All the images were taken from the Internet and I claim no copyright.