Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican musician and actor who helped propel reggae onto the global stage and opened doors for future icons like Bob Marley, has died at age 81.

His wife, Latifa Chambers, announced his passing Monday in a statement shared on social media, saying he “crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia.” No further details were released.

“To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his entire career,” the Instagram post said. “He truly appreciated every single fan and all their love.”

Cliff gained international fame with his starring role in the 1972 Jamaican crime classic The Harder They Come. He is also remembered for the film’s title track and enduring songs such as “Many Rivers to Cross” and “You Can Get It If You Really Want.”

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness paid tribute to Cliff online, calling him “a true cultural giant whose music carried the heart of our nation to the world.” He added that Cliff’s work “lifted people through difficult times, inspired generations, and helped cement global respect for Jamaican culture.” Cliff is survived by his wife and their two children, Lilty and Aken.

The Harder They Come, in which Cliff portrayed a folk-hero outlaw, resonated with audiences both in Jamaica and in the U.S., where it became a staple of the midnight-movie circuit. The soundtrack — featuring songs from Cliff, the Maytals, and Desmond Dekker — achieved international acclaim and was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2020.

Born James Chambers in St. James Parish in 1944, Cliff moved to Kingston as a young man to pursue music, scoring early local hits like “Hurricane Hattie.” In the mid-1960s he relocated to London and signed with Island Records, which would later represent Bob Marley. His 1969 single “Wonderful World, Beautiful People” reached the top 10 on the U.K. charts.

“All I ever wanted was to express the creative drive inside me,” Cliff told The Times in 1999.

He also captured the era’s antiwar spirit with his song “Vietnam,” which Bob Dylan famously praised as one of the greatest protest songs ever written.

Following The Harder They Come, Cliff toured extensively. The Clash referenced the film on their 1979 album London Calling. Cliff also performed during the first season of Saturday Night Live in 1976, spent time in Africa, and later converted to Islam.

In the early 1980s, Bruce Springsteen added Cliff’s song “Trapped” to the E Street Band’s setlist, and a live version appeared on the We Are the World album. Cliff contributed vocals to the Rolling Stones’ 1986 album Dirty Work, the same year he won his first Grammy for Cliff Hanger.

He returned to the charts in 1994 with his cover of “I Can See Clearly Now,” recorded for the film Cool Runnings. Cliff was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 and earned a second Grammy in 2013 for Rebirth, produced with Tim Armstrong of Rancid and partly inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement.

“I wrote ‘Vietnam’ about that time, that war, about people marching,” Cliff told The Times in 2012. “People are still marching now, for different reasons. And I feel compelled to keep singing about those things.”