About
Now living in the U.K., Cliff released his first internationally distributed album, Hard Road to Travel, in 1967. The record did well, with its song "Waterfall" becoming a smash hit in Brazil. He became even more popular over the next few years, with the 1969 single "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" becoming an international hit and Bob Dylan calling his 1970 anti-war tune "Vietnam" the best protest song he'd ever heard. Cliff's 1971 album Wild World scored another hit for him with a cover of Cat Stevens' song of the same name. In August of that year, Cliff's producer, mentor, and friend Kong died unexpectedly of a heart attack. One of the last projects Kong had undertaken was overseeing the soundtrack to the movie The Harder They Come. Produced and written by Perry Henzell, this powerful film featured Cliff in the leading role, and upon its release swiftly became an underground classic. The soundtrack, which included a clutch of Cliff's own compositions, had as much if not more of an impact than the film itself on bringing reggae to the attention of the globe. Around the same time, Bob Marley was also making waves around the world, and Cliff's music began reaching new audiences who were understanding reggae for the first time.
From 🇯🇲 Jamaica
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